So my father (62 years old), has been dealing with some low back pain for the last couple of months (he says it’s there all the time apart from when he’s walking and it feels like his low back is ‘stuck’ and ‘hard’). He told me that for some weeks now he is being treated ±2 times a week with dry needling, and according to him it is relieving the pain and helping him to be able to sit and move around without pain again. Since I’ve been following Barbell Medicine for some time now, my first reaction was to tell him that this treatment is not backed by scientific evidence and that the effects he is feeling are most likely due to placebo.He has discussed this with his physiotherapist who said I should inform myself better on the topic, so I have some questions for you guys.
-Was I correct in saying that dry needling is basically silly bs with no scientific backing?
-How can I convince my father to stop buying into this and get him to understand the basics of pain science, nocebo etc. and get him into strength training?
-Can you point me to some links that debunk this type of treatment, to show my father and possibly also his physiotherapist? Some searching through the forums got me these already https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1136/acupmed-2015-011010 https://www.painscience.com/articles/trigger-point-doubts.php
However, I think that simply bombarding my father with links for articles might not be the best way to help him. Any suggestions as to how to go about this are welcome.
Yes, you are correct that dry needling is silly bs.
You can’t force people to change their minds if they aren’t interested in considering it. So the first question is, does your father want your opinionon this? If not, you’re in for a long road of frustration, and it’d probably be better to just move on with your life. If he does want your opinion on the matter, you’d first have to assess his understanding of how pain works, see why he thinks dry needling “works”, and try to get your foot in the door that way. I’d probably also emphasize your observation that his pain is improved with walking and plant the seed of “motion is lotion” in his mind, potentially empowering him to take charge of his own symptoms rather than needing to get things periodically “needled”.
http://tamethebeast.org is a good place to start with folks who are interested in the topic.
I am going to have to second Austin on both points. There is literally no scientific plausibility for a physiological mechanism for dry needling. That being said, the contextual factors related to any “treatment” can have a positive effect. Attempt to discuss any topic where someone does not necessarily want your opinion is often problematic. I have patients all of the time with prior beliefs related to things that lack any scientific evidence and the question ultimately comes down to “is the risk/reward of this discussion worth it?” If you are trying to get someone on your side of the discussion you are normally better served by trying to find common ground before going at differences and starting with a discussion of what else active is helping his symptoms is normally a good place to start.
Full disclosure: I think that therapist is a jackass for saying that