Therapist Techniques and Stress Points

Physiotherapists, in addition to mechanical therapy and electrical devices, also use techniques such as dry needling and strain-counterstrain (SCS) to treat pain. Dry needling involves inserting a needle into a stress point and lifting and twisting the needle, triggering muscle contraction and a relaxation response in the Golgi tendon system; SCS places a tightened muscle in a shortened position, releasing stress on the muscle spindle and resetting the tension circuit.