Dry Needling in Baltimore

Usually the problem wasn’t the needle. It was that the treatment wasn’t comprehensive enough. Most people who didn’t get results had only one or two painful spots treated, when the real drivers were muscles that were never assessed. Muscles work as a system, not in isolation. Dr. Satriano starts fresh with a full evaluation and clear reasoning about what is actually driving your pain, then treats the whole system with the right dosage. Many patients also say a previous session felt rushed or aggressive, and they weren’t sure why certain muscles were being needled. Every treatment has a clear purpose you will understand before it begins.

Often you can’t tell from imaging alone, which is exactly why the exam matters more than the scan. Muscles can produce pain that closely mimics disc, joint, nerve, and tendon problems. An MRI or X-ray doesn’t always explain why you hurt: many people have disc bulges, arthritis, or tears with no symptoms, while others have real pain with almost nothing on imaging. The principle is to treat the patient, not the image. Trigger points tend to reproduce your familiar pain when pressed and refer it in predictable patterns, which helps sort out how much of your pain is muscular and whether dry needling is likely to help. Structural and muscular problems often coexist, and the exam determines how much each is contributing.

Sometimes, when muscular dysfunction is a real part of the problem, though surgery is still the right call for some people. Not every tear requires surgery, and MRI findings are only one piece of the picture. When muscles are contributing, dry needling can be part of conservative care that may help some people avoid or delay a procedure. And if surgery is ultimately needed, better muscle function often means a stronger starting point for recovery. This is personal for Dr. Satriano, who has had multiple hip surgeries and has lived with chronic pain, so he wants every patient to know they have explored their reasonable conservative options first. Part of the job is helping you figure out which situation you are actually in.

Yes, with an experienced provider who individualizes the approach. It’s an area Dr. Satriano focuses on, because he lives with hypermobility himself. For people with EDS, hypermobility, or fibromyalgia, the nervous system and connective tissue respond differently, so needle selection, dosage, and pacing all need to be adjusted to you. Muscle pain is often the most limiting part of these conditions, because the surrounding muscles overwork to provide stability the connective tissue can’t, and trigger points develop. Dry needling targets exactly those trigger points, and paired with a gradual strengthening and stability program, it can reduce pain and make movement more tolerable.

Weigh experience, clinical reasoning, and teaching background as heavily as the certification. The letters after a name are only part of the story. Look for a licensed provider with formal dry needling training, then ask sharper questions: How often do you perform dry needling? What conditions do you treat most? Do you have training beyond the state minimum, and do you teach or mentor other clinicians? Teaching in particular demands a deep command of anatomy, safety, and reasoning, and usually reflects years of experience beyond an introductory course. For context, Dr. Satriano spent more than eight years teaching dry needling to physical therapists, physicians, and chiropractors through Myopain Seminars and continues to build curriculums for continued education. He trained directly under Jan Dommerholt, and worked with Washington Commanders players over two seasons while helping educate clinicians tied to the Commanders and Ravens organizations.

In trained hands it’s very safe, and the most common side effects are minor and short-lived. The usual after-effects are temporary muscle soreness, similar to a hard workout, and occasionally some minor bruising. A few people feel briefly lightheaded right after a session. Serious complications are rare when the provider knows the anatomy and screens properly. Dr. Satriano would rather have that conversation openly than gloss over it, because being honest about risk is part of doing this responsibly, and it’s why proper training and a careful history matter so much.

It’s a real anatomical risk in untrained hands, which is precisely why where the needle goes, and who is holding it, matters so much. Some regions, like the muscles over the rib cage and around the shoulder blade, sit near structures that require advanced anatomical knowledge and precise needle control to treat safely. This is exactly the training Dr. Satriano taught to other clinicians for years, and it’s why other physical therapists often refer their patients to him for these sensitive areas rather than treat them themselves. A properly trained provider works with these landmarks deliberately and safely. If a provider can’t clearly explain how they keep these regions safe, that tells you something.

Yes, and part of your first visit is screening for exactly that. There are situations where Dr. Satriano won’t needle, or won’t needle a particular area: for example signs of infection, certain active cancers in the treatment area, or an uncontrolled bleeding disorder. Some conditions and medications simply call for a different plan or extra precautions. That’s why a careful medical history comes before treatment ever begins, and why he will sometimes recommend clearing it with your physician first. If dry needling isn’t right for you, he will tell you, and use another approach.

It’s a full evaluation first; the needling only happens once Dr. Satriano knows what is actually driving your pain. He listens to how your pain started and behaves, then combines that with movement analysis, palpation, strength and mobility testing, and, when it helps, diagnostic ultrasound to look at the tissues underneath. The goal isn’t to find the muscle that hurts, but to identify the muscles actually driving the problem. Not everyone is a candidate, and part of that first visit is figuring out when dry needling fits and when it doesn’t.

Usually within the first one to three visits. You shouldn’t have to wait six weeks to know. A meaningful response doesn’t always mean complete relief. It might be less pain, better movement, improved sleep, more strength, or getting back to an activity you had lost. Even small gains show the treatment is moving in the right direction. If progress stalls, that is the signal to reconsider the exam and the plan rather than repeat the same treatment.

Absolutely. I see patients all the time who’ve been to other PTs without success. In most cases, they were given generic exercises, or the therapist didn’t understand their specific condition.  Many of these patients were frustrated with the limited amount of time they got to spend with their PT (usually about 15 minutes) or were handed off to other PT’s and techs. These patients are often told they have reached their “maximum improvement” and are discharged from PT even though they are still not feeling well. 

EDS patients especially have bad experiences with traditional PT because most therapists don’t know how to work with hypermobile patients safely. Same with those suffering from cervicogenic headaches – if nobody checked your neck, you probably didn’t get the correct treatment.

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You can schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation or select other treatment options. During a phone consult we can talk about your situation and figure out if I’m the right fit for you. If we decide to move forward, we’ll schedule your first full appointment during that call.

The clinic is in Lutherville, off York Road in Baltimore County, serving the greater Baltimore area. That includes Towson, Timonium, Cockeysville, Hunt Valley, Ruxton, and Baltimore City. If you are not sure whether dry needling is right for you, a free 20-minute consultation is available to talk it through.

Office address: 1447 York Rd Ste 805, Lutherville, MD 21093