IMS/Dry Needling Treatments

IMS stands for Intramuscular Stimulation. It is also often referred to as Dry Needling, depending on the type of training and type of the health care professional. IMS is an evidence based treatment tool used by your Physiotherapist, that can be very effective.
The type of IMS used at ADAPT is AN-IMS, which stands for Anatomical Neruopathic Intramuscular Stimulation. AN-IMS has it’s foundation in extensive anatomical knowledge, clinical reasoning and comprehensive assessment. The AN-IMS framework puts a strong emphasis on assessment to ensure the use of needles during treatment is appropriate for that individual. AN-IMS is a comprehensive and effective treatment for multiple types of conditions including muscle, tendon, ligament, fascia, neural and biomechanical problems.

Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS) is one of the most effective chronic pain treatments available and one of the most effective ways to release long standing muscular tension. This is especially true when combined with an experienced and highly trained therapist like those at Adapt.

How does it work?

After an assessment that has determined IMS/Dry Needling is appropriate for you, your practitioner will clean the area to be treated and insert acupuncture needles into the affected muscles. There will be multiple insertions until a “twitch” from the affected muscle is elicited by the needle. This “twitch” is the therapeutic effect of IMS/dry needling and causes a decrease of tension in the muscle, leading to either reduced pain, increased range of motion or better function (or all of the above). The “twitch” is a reflex from your muscle to your nervous system and back, and in this way IMS/Dry Needling is actually able to treat some of the underlying issues within your nervous system itself.

If you have further questions about IMS/Dry Needling and whether it is right for you, please contact brandon@adaptphysio.ca