Dry needling for plantar fasciitis
Dry needling can be incredibly helpful for plantar fasciitis to decrease inflammation, relieve pain, improve tissue healing, and increase mobility due to dry needling's ability to increase local blood flow and stimulate the tissues ability to heal. Dry needling is especially effective in the treatment of plantar fasciitis especially when combined with other physical therapy interventions, such as manual therapy and exercise.
Plantar fasciitis is an injury that many athletes (and non-athletes) have experienced at one point of another over the years.
It’s the pain in the bottom of your foot right on the heel with walking, standing, and it is especially noticeable when you take that first step out of bed in the morning. You'll usually feel pain on your heel bone or a tightness within the tissues on the bottom of your foot.
I’ve treated many athletes with this condition, including runners, soccer players, dancers, and triathletes. Physical therapy (and dry needling specifically) is one of the best and most effective treatments for plantar fasciitis.
Treatment for plantar fasciitis
Seeking help from a physical therapist can drastically reduce your recovery time.
If you “just ignore it” or do the exercises you find online, then you take a gamble on whether the pain will sideline you for just a few days or if it’ll take a few years to recover.
Rehab for plantar fasciitis consistently contains:
Manual therapy (soft tissue work and joint mobilizations)
Exercises (to activate specific muscles and prime your movements)
However, dry needling is another effective technique that we can now use in treatment for plantar fasciitis and it’s been a huge game changer for my patients (pun intended.. "game changer").
Make sure your physical therapist has all the certifications to perform dry needling safely - and if you’re in Washington state, physical therapists are required to have a specific state endorsement for intramuscular needling as well.
I’ve written a blog post in the past about plantar fasciitis, outlining the best exercises and treatment for plantar fasciitis, but this article is specifically going to focus on the benefits of dry needling for plantar fasciitis.
Now here’s my disclaimer: you don’t HAVE to get dry needling for plantar fasciitis. In fact, it’s important to remember that you ALWAYS have a choice in your recovery and the treatment you receive.
Dry needling for plantar fasciitis treatment
Dry needling, or intramuscular needling, involves the use of thin, sterile, single-use needles inserted into muscle, connective tissue, or myofascial trigger points to help reduce pain, increase mobility, and stimulate tissue healing (in the exact area we want it).
Dry needling is performed as an adjunct to other treatment techniques, such as soft tissue mobilization, joint mobilization, and exercise. In Washington state, dry needling is not performed alone.
If you want to learn more about dry needling in general, then check out my ultimate guide to dry needling here.
Needles are left in place for up to 20 minutes and then stimulated during the session. The number of needles used for treatment of plantar fasciitis can range from one to 11 needles depending on your comfort level.
Needles are placed in specific structures (muscles and tendons) in the sole of the foot and along the inside border of the foot to help jumpstart tissue healing where it is needed.
A couple of the needles will be placed into the plantar fascia itself where it attaches to the heel - and these are usually the most “spicy” feeling ones. These are specifically inserted into the heel to target the area with the most inflammation and irritation for optimal results.
The number of needles and intensity of treatment can be increased or decreased depending on how you respond to your previous session. I typically start with anywhere from two to six needles on the first session and then increase accordingly to the patient’s comfort level.
The effects of dry needling include:
Decreased pain
Increased circulation for tissue healing and repair
Decreased muscle tension (achieves muscle relaxation)
Increased range of motion
Does dry needling for plantar fasciitis hurt?
I get asked this question a lot: “Does dry needling hurt?”
The short answer is no.
The long answer is that often times when you’re working on an area that is painful and inflamed, even without needles, it can be uncomfortable. Even massage, cupping, scraping, and sometimes just putting pressure on the area, can result in quite a bit of discomfort. And dry needling kind of feels the same way.
However, most patients would agree that dry needling isn’t painful. Like I said before, some needles feel a little “spicier” than others. And in most cases, the pain patients experience all day long from plantar fasciitis is so bad that they’re willing to go through 20 minutes of discomfort to speed up their recovery.
How many dry needling sessions do I need?
The number of the dry needling and physical therapy sessions needed depends on a few things:
How long you’ve had plantar fasciitis
Pain distribution (where is it?)
Any other structures involved, like the calves or ankles
And how you respond to dry needling treatment (the MOST important factor)
Treatments are typically performed once per week during your physical therapy session, which includes soft tissue mobilization, manual therapy, and exercise. It’s important to note how you reacted to the dry needling in your previous session to determine the best and most effective treatment option moving forward.
For plantar fasciitis, I’ve done as few as one dry needling session for a patient, and as many as five or six sessions. It completely hinges on how well the patient tolerated the previous treatment, their current clinical presentation, and the overall improvement made with dry needling.
Summary and where to get dry needling treatment for plantar fasciitis
Dry needling is one of the newer treatment modalities available to patients in Washington state thanks to a change in legislature that became effective in July 2024.
Here’s the thing, dry needling isn’t a “new” treatment to the profession of physical therapy in the vast majority of the United States and it has been utilized as part of effective physical therapy treatment for years. This modality can help to speed up recovery and allows physical therapists to precisely target treatment for specific tissue repair and healing.
Dry needling is especially effective in the treatment of plantar fasciitis especially when combined with other physical therapy interventions, such as manual therapy and exercise.
If you’re local to the Tri-Cities, WA area, contact me at Game Changer Physical Therapy located in Kennewick, WA.
I’m Kacie Shively, PT, DPT, Cert. DN, a physical therapist for athletes who is Certified in Dry Needling and endorsed in the State of Washington.
As a result, I use dry needling to help athletes recover quickly from injuries.
Find out more information and determine if physical therapy would be beneficial for you by booking a free 15-minute discovery call via the button below. I’m always happy to help!
