Dry Needling Ended Her 28 Years of Back Pain and Saved Her From Surgery

When Massachusetts-based attorney and fitness and weight loss blogger Charlene S. Bazarian, 61, injured her back nearly three decades ago, she couldn’t have known it would lead to a lifetime of chronic pain. Determined to find relief, the married mother of three tried just about everything—only to come up empty. That finally changed when she discovered dry needling. Here, she and a leading physical therapist explain why the increasingly popular treatment may work for back pain, how it differs from acupuncture and why it could be worth asking your physical therapist about.

Charlene’s 28-year battle with chronic back pain

“I joke that I come from a long and distinguished line of people with bad backs,” says Charlene. “So I think I was predisposed to having some back issues. But about 28 years ago, I had a horseback riding accident where my saddle came off and I landed flat on my back.” At the time, doctors diagnosed a hairline fracture and told her they couldn’t do anything to fix it.

“Then, over time, it just started to really ache. I got MRIs done, and they found the L4 and L5 vertebrae were protruding, and stenosis and compression were causing nerve pain that would shoot down my leg like hot lava.”

The desperate search for relief

She tried to manage the pain with every remedy she could think of: ibuprofen, cupping, acupuncture, foam rolling, lidocaine patches, decompression therapy, even gyrotonics (spring-based machines similar to Pilates). The list went on and on—but nothing helped.

A few years ago, Charlene reached a crisis point. The pain became so intense that doctors recommended a spinal fusion. “But I really didn’t want to go that route,” she says.

How Charlene discovered dry needling for back pain

“I talked to everyone and I tried everything,” Charlene says. “Out of desperation, even though I hate needles, I started considering [dry needling] because my issues were causing a lot of sciatic pain. A few people told me, ‘My husband had really bad sciatica, and this was the only thing that helped.’ After hearing that two or three times, I thought I needed to try dry needling treatment.”

What is dry needling—and how does it work?

The term “dry” means just that—the needle is inserted without any substance to inject, explains Derek Clewley, PT, DPT, PhD, a physical therapist andassociate director at the Duke Center of Excellence in Manual and Manipulative Therapy. “What differentiates dry needling from other forms of needling, such as injections, is that nothing is delivered into the tissue. It truly is a ‘dry’ needle.”

“Another difference is the shape of the needle. Because there’s no need for a hollow tube to deliver medication, dry needles tend to have more of a conical shape rather than a beveled one,” he says. “This allows it to penetrate the skin and reach the intended tissue with slightly less discomfort than a traditional needle.”

Dry needling vs. acupuncture: What’s the difference?

One major distinction between dry needling and acupuncture? Intent, says Clewley. “For me personally, when I do dry needling, I’m trying to find some sort of either a trigger point, something that is tight or something that I feel needs to calm down. Whereas acupuncture is a different approach in terms of the theory around why it actually works. A lot of that has to do with the energy fields and the energy lines.”

Another difference: “While acupuncture certainly used to ease pain, it’s also used for a number of other potential issues that are not musculoskeletal conditions. So I’ll say that there’s a little bit of a difference around that in terms of the intent.”

Dry needling costs can vary widely by provider and location, but an average session can range anywhere from about $40 to more than $150. It’s not typically covered by insurance or Medicare.

Charlene’s first dry needling session

Before her first appointment, Charlene had no idea what dry needling actually was or how it differed from the acupuncture she’d already tried. In her case, the thin needles are placed in targeted areas, then an electrical current—similar to a TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit—is attached to them. “If you’ve ever had those TENS unit pads on, it’s a very similar feeling,” she explains, “only it goes below the surface of the skin.”

Not all dry needling involves an electrical current, however. “The use of electrical [stimulation] really depends on what the clinician wants to do with the needle,” Clewley explains. “While it can also be placed into other tissues like tendons or nerve sheaths, most clinicians use dry needling primarily in muscles.”

“One of the things you find when you put a needle into muscle is you get that little muscle twitch. The muscle kind of grabs onto the needle,” he adds. “That’s actually the intent of dry needling: to try to stimulate what we call a [myofascial] trigger point response, so that the muscle will twitch a little bit and may actually contract around the needle itself.”

The results that changed everything

Charlene felt relief immediately. “Even after the first session, I noticed it did something,” she says. “That was definitely a ‘eureka’ moment after trying so many things that didn’t work.”

For her, “better” means a dramatic reduction in her debilitating sciatica—what she describes as “the stabbing in the middle of your left butt cheek and hot lava pouring down the back of your leg.”

After completing about 10 sessions, Charlene became a believer. “To be honest, I’m a little afraid to stop completely,” she admits. “Now I go once a month for a little tune-up, because it’s so much better and I don’t want it to get worse.”

Before dry needling, any prolonged activity would trigger pain: walking too long, standing too long, especially on hard surfaces like cement floors at the mall. “I used to have to stop and say, ‘Oh my God, my left leg is just killing me,'” she recalls. The lower back compression from standing on hard surfaces has also improved significantly. “All of that is so much better now,” she says.

The success with her back pain led Charlene to try dry needling for another issue. When her foot doctor recommended surgery for persistent foot problems—a procedure she wanted to avoid—she turned to dry needling again. “It was helpful as well,” she reports. “Now when I go, it’s actually more for my foot.”

What the science says about dry needling for back pain

The research on dry needling? “Studies are inconclusive,” Clewley acknowledges. “While some show positive effects, others find no difference compared to traditional treatments—though importantly, they don’t show harm either.”

So why the disconnect between research and clinical success stories? “In a clinical trial, you’ll always have some people who respond really strongly and others who don’t—or even have negative outcomes,” he explains. “What you end up with is an average that doesn’t fully reflect those individual differences.” He believes clinicians may be better at identifying which patients are more likely to benefit from the effectiveness of dry needling.

One surprising factor that may predict success is patient interest. “A pretty good indicator is when a patient asks about dry needling,” he says. “We’re seeing more patients come in requesting it, and when they do, they already believe it will help. That expectation, that sense of hope, can make a real difference, and it’s something research doesn’t always capture.”

That said, some conditions show stronger evidence. “There are areas where the evidence is a bit more conclusive,” Clewley notes. Dry needling for reducing “back pain, for example, seems to have more support.”

Ultimately, Clewley views dry needling as an adjunct to, not a substitute for, other physical therapy interventions. “What we hope is that it acts as an amplifier—helping people engage in other parts of rehab they might not have been able to tolerate without that stimulus from dry needling,” he explains.

The bottom line on dry needling for back pain

For Charlene, dry needling has been life-changing. After 28 years of chronic back pain that limited her daily activities and range of motion, she can now walk, stand and move freely without that debilitating “hot lava” sensation shooting down her leg. If you’re struggling with chronic pain and want to explore dry needling, talk to your physical therapist or doctor about whether it might be right for you. As Charlene’s story shows, sometimes the solution you’ve been searching for is closer than you think.

Ready for more inspiration?Subscribe to our YouTube channel for video podcasts, health tips and uplifting stories designed for women 40, 50, 60 and beyond

Copyright 2026 A360 Media

This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 7:45 AM.