Dry Needling in Chattanooga: How One Patient Found Relief After 7 Years of Knee Pain

If you’ve been searching for dry needling in Chattanooga or Hixson and wondering what it’s all about, you’re not alone. Many of my patients at Bounceback Physical Therapy in Hixson, TN (just outside Chattanooga) ask me, “What is dry needling, and can it help my pain?” In this post, I’ll explain dry needling in plain language and share a real patient success story. This story shows how dry needling – when combined with other treatments – helped one active woman go from 7+ years of knee pain to pain-free for the first time.

By the end, you’ll understand what dry needling is, why we use it as part of a comprehensive plan (alongside exercise, taping, and hands-on therapy), and whether it might be right for you. Let’s dive in!

What is Dry Needling?

Dry needling is a modern therapeutic technique where I use a very thin, sterile needle (similar to an acupuncture needle) to target “trigger points” in your muscles. A trigger point is essentially a tight knot or spasm within the muscle that can cause pain and restrict movement. Unlike an injection, the needle is “dry” – meaning no medication is injected. The goal is to stimulate the muscle, release tension, and promote your body’s natural healing responses.

Many people ask if dry needling is the same as acupuncture. While it uses similar thin needles, dry needling is based on Western medicine principles and targeted at muscle trigger points related to your pain, rather than traditional Chinese meridians. In practice, the treatment is typically very quick and most patients feel only a tiny pinch or ache – and often a twitch in the muscle – followed by a sense of relief as the tight knot releases.

So what does dry needling actually do? It helps reset overactive, tight muscles that haven’t responded to stretching or strengthening alone. By releasing those stubborn knots and improving blood flow, dry needling can decrease pain and improve range of motion in the treated area. For deeper muscles in spasm or longstanding tightness, it can be a game-changer. I’ve had many clients with chronic pain say it finally relieved spots that felt “stuck” or constantly tender.

One Tool in a Comprehensive Treatment Toolbox: It’s important to know that dry needling is just one piece of the puzzle. At Bounceback, I almost never rely on one technique alone – effective pain relief comes from addressing the whole problem. Along with dry needling, your personalized plan may also include:

• Soft Tissue Mobilization: Hands-on muscle work (similar to specialized massage) to loosen tight tissues and improve circulation.
• Joint Mobilization/Manipulation: Gentle adjustments or movements of the joints to improve mobility and alignment (think relieving a stiff knee or adjusting a misaligned hip).
• Taping Techniques: Supportive athletic or kinesiology taping to reduce strain on the area (for example, taping the knee to improve tracking and provide stability during movement).
• Customized Exercise Programming: Targeted stretches and strengthening exercises to correct underlying imbalances. (This might include hip and glute strengthening for knee pain, core exercises for back pain, etc.)

Dry needling complements these other treatments. By combining hands-on therapies, corrective exercises, and techniques like dry needling, we treat both the symptoms and the root cause of your pain. Now, let me share how this played out for one patient in particular.

A Real Patient Story: 7 Years of Knee Pain Resolved

One of my patients – an active woman in her 40s – came to our clinic with persistent inside knee pain that had bothered her for over 7 years. Her pain was usually around a 4/10 in intensity, and certain activities made it worse. She loved staying active here in Chattanooga, from hiking our beautiful trails to running and doing gym workouts. But whenever she tried to squat or lunge at the gym, go for a run, or hike up Signal Mountain, her inner knee would flare up with sharp pain. Imagine dealing with that nagging knee ache for so long – it was frustrating, and it kept her from fully enjoying the activities she loves.

During our initial evaluation, I could tell her knee pain wasn’t just coming from the knee itself. In fact, a lot of knee pain (especially on the inner side) is related to issues in the hips or surrounding muscles. For her, I identified weaknesses in her hip stabilizer muscles and some movement patterns that were putting extra stress on the inside of her knee. We needed to address those root causes to give her real relief.

Crafting Her Treatment Plan: We started with a comprehensive approach (no needles just yet!). Over the first several weeks, her therapy program included:

• Targeted Strengthening: I gave her specific hip-focused exercises to strengthen her glutes and inner thigh muscles. By building hip and core strength, we aimed to better support her knee with every step and squat.
• Movement Pattern Education: We worked on her squatting and lunging form, making slight adjustments to how she moved. By teaching her to hinge her hips and align her knee properly over her foot, we reduced the unhealthy pressure on the inside of her knee.
• Taping and Support: I used taping techniques on her knee during higher-load activities. The tape provided extra support and reminded her body of proper alignment, which helped decrease pain during workouts.
• Hands-On Therapy: Each session, I also performed soft tissue mobilization on tight muscles (like her quads and calves) and gentle joint mobilizations on her knee and hip. This helped improve her mobility and eased some of the stiffness and discomfort around the knee.

After a few weeks, we were seeing significant progress. Her squat form and strength were improving, and her daily pain levels were down. She could hike a bit longer with less knee soreness afterward, and overall the pain was no longer hitting a 4/10 regularly – it was lower. But (there’s always a “but,” right?) she still felt a lingering ache along the inside of her knee, especially if she tried to push into deeper squats or longer runs. We had moved the needle (pun intended) quite a bit, but hadn’t completely eliminated her pain.

Adding Dry Needling – The Missing Piece: At this point, I suggested we try dry needling as the next step. We had already built a strong foundation with exercise and manual therapy, but I suspected there were a few stubborn muscle trigger points contributing to that last bit of pain. Specifically, the muscles that attach along the inside of the knee (like some of the hip adductors on the inner thigh and the pes anserine tendons) felt tight and tender on exam. These areas can refer pain to the inside of the knee when knotted up.

During her next session, I performed dry needling on several of those targeted spots. I gently inserted the thin needles into the taut bands of her inner thigh muscles near the knee. She felt a twitch in the muscle (a good sign the trigger point is releasing) and then a reduction in tension. We followed that up with some light stretching and continued her usual exercises.

After just two dry needling sessions, something remarkable happened – she reported her pain was completely gone. In fact, after the second session, she went out for a trail run at Stringer’s Ridge and later realized that her knee pain was 0/10 for the first time in over 7 years. We were both thrilled! The combination of all the work we’d done, plus the dry needling to finally release those deep knots, had done the trick. I still remember her excitement, saying it felt almost strange (in a good way) to have no pain at all after years of “just dealing with it.”
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This patient’s journey is a great example of how we use dry needling as part of a larger game plan. The exercises, education, and hands-on care got her 90% better — dry needling helped achieve that last 10% by rebooting those chronically tight muscles. Most importantly, we addressed why her knee was hurting in the first place (weak hips and poor movement mechanics), so she could stay pain-free long after our sessions ended.

Why Dry Needling Might Be Right for You

Dry needling isn’t magic, but it can be a powerful addition to a well-rounded treatment program – especially for active people in Chattanooga and Hixson dealing with stubborn pain or tightness. I often recommend dry needling for patients who have muscle knots or trigger points that haven’t released with standard stretching, foam rolling, or massage. It’s also helpful when pain keeps coming back due to chronic muscle tension or spasms.
You might benefit from dry needling as part of your physical therapy if:

• You have persistent pain or soreness that feels like it’s coming from tight muscles or “knots” (common in conditions like tension headaches, low back pain, or IT band syndrome).
• Other treatments have only helped partially. For example, you’ve done exercise therapy or chiropractic care which helped, but you still feel a nagging spot that hasn’t fully resolved.
• Your pain gets worse with activity due to muscle overuse or poor movement patterns. Dry needling can calm those hot spots while we work on correcting the underlying mechanics.
• You want faster relief so you can stay active. Dry needling often provides relief quickly – sometimes immediately or within a session or two – which can motivate you to keep up with your exercises as you feel the improvements.

Of course, like any technique, dry needling is not the only answer. It’s most effective when combined with the kind of holistic approach we use at Bounceback Physical Therapy. Our focus is on finding and fixing the root cause of your pain – whether that’s weak hips causing knee pain (like the story above), a stiff upper back contributing to neck pain, or anything in between. Dry needling in Hixson/Chattanooga is just one tool I can use to help you get better, alongside the targeted exercises and manual therapy you need.

If you’re unsure about the needles – don’t worry. I always discuss it with you beforehand, and it’s entirely optional. Some people feel a little mild muscle soreness for a day after dry needling (similar to a workout soreness), but many feel improvement almost immediately. I’m certified in dry needling and prioritize patient comfort and safety, so you’re in good hands. The bottom line is your comfort and results are what matter most – we’ll only use techniques that you’re comfortable with and that make sense for your condition.

Whether you’re an avid runner, a weekend hiker, or just someone who wants to walk up and down stairs without knee pain, you deserve to move and feel your best. Dry needling is one way to help get you there, and in combination with a personalized rehab plan, it might be the thing that finally gets you over the hump from “mostly better” to “100% pain-free.”

Ready to Fix the Root Cause of Your Pain?

If you’re tired of temporary fixes and want long-term relief, let’s talk. Schedule a free discovery call today so I can hear your story and help determine if we’re the right fit for your needs.
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