Dry Needling in Gaithersburg, MD

Dry needling at Potomac Valley Chiropractic is for adults in Gaithersburg, Potomac, Rockville, Germantown, Bethesda, and the surrounding Montgomery County area who have tight, painful, or knotted muscle tissue that hasn't fully resolved with rest, stretching, massage, or other treatment.

We use dry needling most often when an exam shows that trigger points or guarded muscle fibers are clearly driving your symptoms — whether that's recurring neck and shoulder tension, lower-back muscle spasm, calf and plantar issues, chronic upper-back tightness from desk work, or sports-related muscle pain in runners, lifters, and golfers.

Dry needling is the use of a thin, sterile filament needle (similar in size to an acupuncture needle) placed directly into a trigger point or tight muscle band. The needle creates a local twitch response that releases the muscle, reduces pain, and restores normal length and function to the tissue.

Dry needling is not acupuncture. Acupuncture is rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine and works through meridian theory. Dry needling is a Western, anatomy-based technique used by chiropractors and physical therapists to treat musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction — specifically targeting trigger points and dysfunctional muscle tissue identified during an orthopedic exam.

Dry needling is most effective on muscle, tendon, and fascial pain — especially patterns that include obvious trigger points or guarded muscle on exam. We commonly use it for:

Care starts with a personalized exam, a clear explanation of what we found, and a treatment plan. Dry needling is one tool in that plan — used when an exam shows that trigger points or tight muscle bands are clearly part of the problem.

During a needling session, very thin, sterile, single-use needles are placed into the trigger point or tight band. Most patients feel a brief twitch, a deep ache, or a referred sensation along the muscle as the trigger point releases. The needle then comes out — there's no medication, no fluid injected, and no anesthesia required.

Your first visit takes about 45 minutes and includes a thorough intake, an orthopedic exam, palpation of the muscle and trigger points involved, and a personalized care plan. Many patients receive their first dry needling session that same day.

Most patients feel a brief twitch sensation during needling, a mild ache for a few hours afterward, and a meaningful change in muscle tightness and pain — often by the next day. We don't pressure patients into long, prepaid plans.

Our office is in Gaithersburg, MD, near Quince Orchard High School and the Kentlands area. We see dry needling patients from Gaithersburg, Potomac, North Potomac, Darnestown, Rockville, Germantown, North Bethesda, Bethesda, Derwood, Montgomery Village, Clarksburg, and Travilah.

What patients tell us makes the biggest difference: how fast dry needling calms stubborn trigger points compared to massage or stretching alone — and that we combine it with chiropractic and rehab so the same trigger point doesn't keep coming back.

Dr. Spiro Theodore, D.C. has over 20 years of chiropractic experience and uses dry needling alongside chiropractic care and soft tissue work. Dr. Marvin Diaz, D.C., M.S. brings a Master of Science in Applied Clinical Nutrition, a background in Exercise Science, and certified personal training experience — and is especially experienced with athletes, runners, and active adults who use dry needling as part of recovery and return-to-training.

We've treated 5,000+ patients over 25+ years, we're rated 5.0 stars across 189 Google reviews, and we accept most major insurance plans — including Blue Cross Blue Shield, CareFirst, Aetna, United Healthcare, Medicare, GEHA, Johns Hopkins EHP, and Optum VA.