Lingering Pain at the Site of Your Surgery? Try Dry Needling

Lingering Pain at the Site of Your Surgery? Try Dry Needling

Nicole Havenstrite has had three c-sections, and each time, the scar left from the surgery healed up a little bit tighter and a little more uncomfortable. Living an active lifestyle that includes regular exercise, she was looking for some relief from the pain that results when her scar is stretched.

So, she turned to her physical therapist at Emplify Health by Gundersen West Union Hospital for suggestions, and what she heard wasn't what she expected but ended up providing the exact thing she needed.

A New Option for Pain Management

Havenstrite, the owner of Euphoria Coffee in West Union and Fredericksburg, admits she rarely sits still-which is how she likes it. If she's not working out, she's busy running her business or running after her three children.

"If I'm not moving, I'm miserable," she says.

But moving wasn't easy after giving birth. After her first child, Havenstrite experienced severe abdominal pain and had issues at the site of her c-section. Therefore, when her second pregnancy came along, she knew she wanted to do some kind of rehab afterward to avoid that pain.

She had heard from an occupational therapist she knew that women who, after giving birth, especially by c-section, should see a therapist for rehab because it is a major surgery. So, she approached physical therapist Renae Lembke for a solution, and she offered up an idea Havenstrite had never considered: dry needling.

"I don't like needles that much," Havenstrite said, "but after you have a baby, you're not scared of needles."

Tiny Pokes, Big Relief

Dry needling is the process of using small needles (similar to those used in acupuncture) on identified areas of the body that contain scars, tissue restriction, tight muscles or muscles that aren't activating well.

The needles, Lembke says, are meant to help stimulate a response in those muscles that aren't working well or on ones that are overworked and too tight. Needling around a well-healed scar or scar tissue can loosen that area up so it's not pulling, which is what limits movement.

"There's kind of a neuromuscular response that happens," Lembke says. "I had needled a hip area and had a patient say, I feel a tingle up here or my fingers are tingly. You can get a response throughout the body, and that's the whole neuromuscular response that can happen when you needle."

Benefits of dry needling include relaxing tight muscles, pain relief, increased blood flow to certain areas and stimulating muscles to be more active. In general, Lembke says it can make people feel more mobile.

For women who've given birth, they'll wait 12 to 16 weeks post-surgery to dry needle so the scarred area can heal. For Havenstrite and others like her, stretching the scar can be painful because of tightness in the area.

"Scars are tender. A lot of scars, in general, people don't like it when you touch them, and it can be sensitive for years," Lembke says. "And especially c-section scars, if you have multiple c-sections, now you're doing layer after layer, so things are going to have more scar tissue and more tenderness."

'It's Just Exceptional'

Since dry needling is a natural remedy that didn't require her to take medication, Havenstrite decided to give it a try after giving birth to her second child. And in just her second session, she says the relief was instant. The pain near her scar and the general tightness that accompanied the surgery went away.

With her third pregnancy, Havenstrite met with a therapist who helped her prepare for giving birth, doing exercises that loosened up areas that were tight after being on her feet all day. After giving birth, again by c-section, she met with Lembke for more dry needling.

"It's just exceptional," Havenstrite says. "It's like an instant release in those areas. You can feel, each session, it's a little bit easier. I wish every woman who's experienced pregnancy or abdominal surgery could have the knowledge that this is out there."

She added, "It's really helped my postpartum journey, which is not easy, either. It's unavoidable. If you can make it a little bit simpler and ease that pain naturally, I was all for it."

Now, Havenstrite sees Lembke about every other week for an hour. Despite the needles-which she admitted she only recently finally looked at for the first time-she's excited for each session, knowing the results she'll get from it.

"Now I look forward to the sessions," she says. "They're therapy."

Emplify Health by Gundersen West Union Hospital has five certified dry needling therapists. If you're interested in learning more about what dry needling could do for you, call the hospital at (563) 422-9729.