Trigger Point Dry Needling in Greenville, SC
Trigger Point Dry Needling at IHP Greenville. Dr. Hendry, DAOM — NCBAHM-certified, 25+ yrs experience, hospital-credentialed. Call (864) 365-6156.
"Excellent. I was a skeptic and informed Dr. Hendry of such. I have a broken neck from a racing accident over 40 plus years ago. The results have been remarkable and I am a believer in acupuncture."
— Michael F. McLeod · April 2015 · Google Review
You probably know exactly where your trigger point is. You've been pressing on it. The difference between pressing on it and needling it is the difference between applying pressure to a biochemically hostile microenvironment and mechanically disrupting it. Shah's 2008 research showed elevated substance P, bradykinin, and CGRP in active trigger points — a self-sustaining inflammatory milieu. The local twitch response I'm looking for when the needle goes in is the motor endplate resetting. Once that happens, the referral pattern drops within minutes.
How Trigger Point Dry Needling Works
Dr. Hendry locates active trigger points through systematic palpation, following the referred pain maps of Simons, Travell & Simons. He inserts a fine needle directly into the trigger point and elicits one or more local twitch responses (LTRs) — confirming point deactivation. For trigger points resistant to mechanical needling, electroacupuncture stimulation is added to extend the neuromuscular reset effect.
Conditions Treated with Trigger Point Dry Needling
Dry Needling vs. Massage Therapy Alone for Trigger Point Deactivation
Massage therapy applies compressive force to trigger points and is effective at temporarily increasing local circulation and reducing peripheral sensitization. However, the mechanical pressure delivered through soft tissue does not reliably penetrate to the depth of the motor endplate, where the ATP energy crisis originates. Shah et al. (2008) demonstrated that the biochemical profile within an active trigger point normalizes more completely following needling than manual compression alone. The local twitch response elicited by dry needling is itself diagnostic and therapeutic: its presence confirms point identification and its occurrence correlates directly with clinical outcomes. Massage therapy does not elicit this neurological reset. In practice, both modalities have a role. We combine manual therapy to prepare the tissue with precise dry needling to achieve complete deactivation. For chronic or recalcitrant trigger points, dry needling consistently reaches the structural root cause that sustained manual work cannot fully resolve. Patients who have received months of massage without lasting relief frequently respond within three to five dry needling sessions, precisely because the intervention addresses the motor endplate dysfunction directly rather than its surface manifestations.
Research & Evidence
Myofascial trigger points are discrete, hyperirritable foci within a taut band of skeletal muscle. At the cellular level, Shah JP et al. (Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 2008) demonstrated that active trigger points harbor a measurably acidic microenvironment with elevated concentrations of substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide, bradykinin, serotonin, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. This inflammatory milieu perpetuates the ATP energy crisis described in Travell and Simons' trigger point manual (1983/1992) — sarcomere contracture without nerve input. Dry needling mechanically disrupts this contracture, eliciting a local twitch response that resets the dysfunctional motor endplate. The needle penetration also stimulates a controlled inflammatory response, recruiting fibroblasts and promoting tissue remodeling at the site. Dommerholt and Huijbregts (2011) summarize the evidence base: point deactivation via dry needling produces measurable reductions in the biochemical load within the trigger point milieu within minutes of treatment. Our clinical protocols target the precise taut band rather than broad muscle regions, ensuring complete mechanical deactivation of each identified point.
Your First Appointment
Wear loose clothing for muscle access. Bring any prior imaging or physical therapy notes. Describe your pain pattern clearly — where it hurts, where it refers to, what makes it better or worse. This information helps Dr. Hendry identify the most likely trigger point sources.
Why Dr. Hendry for Trigger Point Dry Needling
Dr. Hendry's expertise in trigger point anatomy — developed through acupuncture practice, dry needling training, and his Prisma Health research on needling techniques — gives him a precise understanding of referred pain patterns and trigger point location that produces consistently effective outcomes.