A week ago, a former patient reached out to me because his triceps muscle had been twitching non-stop for two weeks. It was really bothering him, and he didn’t know what to do. So he came into the clinic, and sure enough, his muscles was jumping like crazy. I performed dry needling therapy in an attempt to stop the twitching, and it turned into quite a battle. Finally, by the end of the session, the muscle calmed down. Shortly after, the patient canceled his next appointment because he was feeling better.

Fasciculation is the medical term for spontaneous muscle twitching. It occurs when a nerve becomes overactive, usually due to stress, medications, or heavy lifting. If someone experiences fasciculations in multiple areas of the body, it could be a sign of a more serious condition like ALS (remember the Ice Bucket Challenge from ten years ago?).

I had never seen fasciculations this intense before, but dry needling seemed to work thankfully. Medical research suggests that dry needling can reduce fasciculations by improving blood flow, promoting nerve healing, and decreasing muscular trigger points. Some studies have even documented its benefits for restless leg syndrome. If you have uncontrollable muscle twitching and have exhausted other treatments like medications, rest, or dietary changes, dry needling might be worth considering.