{"id":353659,"date":"2025-12-18T17:02:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T17:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/353659\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T17:02:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T17:02:13","slug":"dry-needling-is-common-around-the-nfl-and-players-arent-worried-despite-watts-collapsed-lung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/353659\/","title":{"rendered":"Dry needling is common around the NFL, and players aren’t worried despite Watt’s collapsed lung"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride heard about what happened to Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt<\/a> \u2014 and McBride plans to continue his weekly dry-needling sessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I do frequently. I\u2019ve never had an issue like that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut with every treatment, everything that you get done, I mean, there\u2019s risk to everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The risk that goes along with dry needling \u2014 at least in certain areas \u2014 caught many off guard last week when Watt was sent to the hospital with a partially collapsed lung sustained during the procedure. The 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year is out indefinitely after having surgery.<\/p>\n

Dry needling is a treatment used by physical therapists and acupuncturists to treat pain and movement issues, according to the Cleveland Clinic<\/a>. The medical professionals insert needles under the skin to target trigger points \u2014 knotted or tender areas \u2014 in muscles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s like a bit of a systemic reaction,\u201d said Chicago Bears center Drew Dalman, who has the treatment five to 10 times per year. \u201cLike when you do that, it can draw blood flow and things like that to effected areas. I think there is some of that classic acupuncture muscle tension effect. I\u2019ve always used that in terms of soft tissue-type issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dry needling gives NFL players relief for tight muscles<\/p>\n

Dry needling is often part of a larger pain management plan, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The treatment is designed to alleviate tightness and tender areas in muscles by increasing blood flow to the area. It also can spark the release of endorphins that help with the pain.<\/p>\n

The treatment is called dry needling because the thin needles don\u2019t have any medication.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just releases tight muscles,\u201d New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke said. \u201cObviously you have some fascial tension, so it helps release some of the fascia, too. It can kind of give you like a targeted trigger-point release where massage might not be able to get the muscle to release or different stretching techniques might not. Sometimes you stick a needle deep into that area, and it just gets it to relax.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two of the most common techniques are superficial \u2014 when the practitioner inserts the needle into the bottom layer of skin above the trigger point \u2014 and deep \u2014 when the needle is inserted deep into the muscle to penetrate the trigger point. There is also the pistoning technique, when the practitioner quickly moves the needle up and down through the tissue.<\/p>\n

According to the Cleveland Clinic, dry needling is approved for use in 37 states and Washington, D.C. Training and certification can vary by state. Pennsylvania does not explicitly allow or ban the practice.<\/p>\n

Washington Commanders guard Sam Cosmi said he started using dry needling during his college days at the University of Texas. Playing his fifth NFL season, he has a session every three weeks or so.<\/p>\n

He described the sensation of the needle going in as a \u201cbite.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI only do it when I have to do it. It\u2019s not my favorite thing,\u201d Cosmi said.<\/p>\n

Despite some concerns, NFL players will likely continue with dry needling<\/p>\n

The use of dry needling varies around the NFL.<\/p>\n

Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman John Jenkins said he has a session every week. The 36-year-old Jenkins, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 360 pounds, has been using the treatment for about a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do a lot of lower extremities, when it comes to dry needling,\u201d he said. \u201cIt helps me loosen up a lot of muscles that are pretty much tense. I\u2019m a bigger person, right? So whatever helps me to loosen the muscles, I\u2019m going to pursue that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tennessee Titans center Lloyd Cushenberry said he uses the treatment when he thinks it\u2019s necessary. He cited his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury in November 2024 and a calf issue this past offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, like with my calf, I felt some relief,\u201d he said. \u201cBut most of the time I\u2019ve done it, it\u2019s, I don\u2019t know, maybe a placebo, I don\u2019t know. I haven\u2019t found too much, like it wasn\u2019t a drastic difference afterwards. But when I did it with my calf this offseason \u2026 it felt a little better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some players are very particular about the areas where they will have the treatment. Cosmi said he doesn\u2019t have any sessions on his torso. Cushenberry said he sticks to his lower body.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a lower-body guy. If I\u2019m getting dry-needled, stick it in my legs,\u201d Commanders receiver Jaylin Lane said.<\/p>\n

Lane said he heard about what happened with Watt and it made him nervous. Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Kyle Hinton also was aware of what happened, but he said it hadn\u2019t changed how he felt about the treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI trust all professionals, at least around here,\u201d Hinton said. \u201cI\u2019m sure they have a great athletic training staff in Pittsburgh as well. But, you know, sometimes just stuff happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Pro Football Writer Teresa Walker and AP Sports Writers Howard Fendrich, Will Graves, David Brandt, Charles Odum, Stephen Whyno and Noah Trister contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___ <\/p>\n

AP NFL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nfl<\/a><\/p>\n

Jay Cohen, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) \u2014 Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride heard about what happened to Pittsburgh Steelers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-353659","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}