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Dry Needling – What’s the Point?

Here at Action Chiropractic, we are always looking for the best ways to serve our patients. We recently received our certifications in dry needling, and are excited to offer yet another research backed therapy to our toolbox. What is dry needling?
Dry needling is a treatment option that involves using very thin acupuncture needles to penetrate skin, muscles, trigger points, and connective tissue for the management of Neuromusculoskeletal pain.
A variety of needle techniques are used with the goal of provoking specific structures in the body to help relieve pain and increase range of motion. The needles used in dry needling vary in thickness and in length and different needles are used depending what the target tissue is.
What does dry needling do?
Dry needling works on several different levels. First of all, it creates a change in local circulation-sticking something with a needle will cause it to bleed. This blood flow helps to bring fresh, nutrient rich, oxygenated blood to the target tissue helping to make that tissue more elastic, and thus increasing range of motion. Dry needling also impacts the autonomic nervous system. This system is responsible for the fight or flight response, and needling helps to bring injured or stressed tissue to a non-stressed state.
Lastly, dry needling promotes biomechanical balance by creating normal muscle activation patterns, changes in muscle strength, muscle thickness, and range of motion.
Who can benefit from dry needling? Dry needling can help relieve the symptoms associated with a number of different neuromusculoskeletal disorders including, but not limited to: back and neck pain, tennis elbow, golfers elbow, joint pain, shin splints, tendonitis, repetitive motion disorders, headaches, and many more.
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Dr. Norgaard’s first exposure to chiropractic was when he was a high school football player at Neuqua Valley in Naperville, Illinois. Nagging injuries led him to Action Chiropractic and Dr. Durnas. He was amazed with the results he got and knew that the treatments provided at Action Chiropractic were the best way to address his ailments.
After high school, Dr. Norgaard left Naperville and attended Central College in Pella, Iowa. While at Central, he majored in biology and played football, further piquing his interest in sports injuries and how to treat them. When he wasn’t in the classroom or on the football field, Dr. Norgaard spent his time volunteering at hospitals, and at various clinics. This is when he really developed a passion for helping people get better.
His experiences as an athlete, chiropractic patient, and volunteer shaped his decision to become a chiropractor.
After graduating from Central, Dr. Norgaard continued his education at Palmer College of Chiropractic.
While at Palmer, Dr. Norgaard took several extracurricular courses focusing on spinal diagnosis and therapy, soft tissue care, and diagnosis and treatment of the extremities. He completed a 4-month internship with Dr. Durnas at Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center and further developed his skills as a physician.
He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Palmer in October of 2021 and received the Academic Excellence Award.
After graduation, Dr. Norgaard joined the team at Action Chiropractic and Sports Injury Center. He currently resides in the Naperville area with his wife, Shannon, son, Parker, and dog, Alby.
“I chose to become a chiropractor because I was helped by chiropractic. I was in such discomfort it took me over 3 minutes to put on my socks. After seeing a chiropractor, and regaining the ability to tie my shoes, I realized that taking loads of NSAIDs did not address the fact that there was something causing the pain. The more I learned about it, I found that Chiropractic doesn’t just hide symptoms, like I was trying to do with pills, it fixes the origin of the problem.”
Dr. Durnas graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology and Bachelors of Arts degree in Chemistry. After graduation he worked in research and development for 3 years and dabbled in powerlifting and professional wrestling. That’s what lead him to chiropractic school. While at Palmer College of Chiropractic, he focused on learning how to best help the athlete. He took several extracurricular courses on how to address soft tissue injuries, how to adjust extremities, and how to better manage sports injuries. He graduated in June of 2012, where we were the Palmer Clinical Excellence Award winner and a keynote speaker at commencement.
In 2019, Dr. Durnas earned his Diplomate from the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (DACBSP)®. He is only the 427th chiropractor in history to earn this designation, and only the 6th recipient in the history of Illinois. He completed over 300 hours of classroom and online courses focusing on in depth on the diagnosis and treatment of sports injuries, concussions, and emergency procedures, and had over 100 on the field hours with athletes that ranged from cross fitters, professional and high school football players, professional BMX and Motocross riders, triathletes, and runners. Dr. Durnas passed a 6-part practical exam and a 250 question Board exam and contributed a case study involving nerve damage in a professional athlete following a hit to the shoulder.