Where Can I Get Dry Needling for Shoulder Pain in Jacksonville?

We use dry needling for shoulder pain regularly, specifically targeting the rotator cuff muscles and the cervical contributors that most people with shoulder pain have never had evaluated. The infraspinatus is usually involved. The subscapularis often is too. And there is almost always a cervical component that is either causing or amplifying the shoulder symptoms.

The Rotator Cuff Trigger Point Problem

The infraspinatus and teres minor refer pain into the anterior shoulder and down the lateral arm in a pattern that looks exactly like impingement or bursitis. Patients come to us having been diagnosed with one of those and having had some combination of physical therapy, cortisone, and rest, all directed at the front of the shoulder. The source is in the back, in the posterior rotator cuff, which was never directly addressed.

The subscapularis, the muscle that runs along the inside of the shoulder blade, refers into the posterior shoulder and down the medial arm. It is essentially never treated because reaching it requires specific needle placement that manual therapy cannot replicate. When it is the dominant pain generator, nothing else resolves it.

One Patient's Situation

A woman came to us from the San Marco area with five months of anterior shoulder pain. She had completed PT with some improvement in range of motion but persistent pain at the front of the shoulder with reaching overhead. Dr. Muren needled her infraspinatus in the first session. The anterior shoulder pain, which she had thought was at the front of the joint, dropped by about 60 percent. It was a referred pain pattern from a muscle she had never heard of, in a location she would not have pointed to on her body.

Cervical Involvement

Almost every chronic shoulder pain patient we see has a cervical component. Restrictions at C5-C6 alter how the entire shoulder girdle loads and often directly refer into the shoulder and arm. We assess and treat the cervical spine alongside the shoulder in every presentation. Dry needling the rotator cuff while leaving the neck restriction untreated produces shorter-lasting results.

Insurance and Access

We accept Florida Blue, United Healthcare, Humana, Cigna, Florida Medicaid, and VA benefits. Dry needling coverage varies by plan. Call (904) 539-3352 and we will sort out coverage before your first visit. 13770 Beach Blvd #4, Jacksonville FL 32224.

Written by

Dr. Cody Muren, DC

Doctor of Chiropractic · Certified Acupuncturist