Our first 'Featured Clinician' is a rockstar PT from Houston, TX - Chris Juneau.
Aside from being a brilliant clinician, dry needling educator with Kinetacore, and Olympic weight lifting coach - we had the chance to work with Chris in Haiti during our trip with STAND - The Haiti Project. iDryNeedle sent Chris some prying questions (OK - not so prying) about his experience with dry needling and how he uses it with his athletes at Memorial Hermann Ironman Sports Medicine in Houston, TX.
He's an awesome dude and a perfect candidate for our first "Featured Clinician" spotlight - so take a minute to meet Chris Juneau!
1) Name & Business Card Title (credentials, etc)
Chris Juneau PT,DPT,SCS,CSCS
Physical Therapist
Sports Residency Site Coordinator
Adjunct Faculty- Kinetacore Dry Needling
2) Where do you work?
Memorial Hermann Ironman Sports Medicine - Houston, TX
3) What clientele do you treat/specialize in?
-Outpatient Sports Medicine
-Post-operative sports care
-Sports Performance
-Olympic Weightlifting/Crossfit
-Tendon Pain
-Hip Preservation/hip pain
4) How long have you been dry needling?
5 years
5) How has dry needling changed/enhanced/improved your practice?
Not only has dry needling provided a medium to treat both soft tissue and neuromuscular deficits, but dry needling has ultimately changed my ability to diagnose these pathologies as well. The acuity of the needle allows me to better locate and identify tissues otherwise too difficult to palpate, while greatly sparing my hands and joints from the abuse of manual therapy. I would also like to point out the magnitude of the treatment as well. I have found I am able to produce an incredibly large change with a seemingly small amount of medium. This works well for my athletic population looking for acute changes in a more aggressive manner.
6) What other treatments do you find valuable in combination with DN?
-Graston
-Strength and Conditioning
-NM movement training
7) What do you see as positives and negatives of DN in your practice or PT practice in general?
(+): The overwhelming positive outcomes I have personally experienced, as well as learned about, make this intervention a viable option for the future of the profession. Patient care has changed as a result of dry needling, and it is continuing to define the overarching abilities and capabilities of the profession.
(-): Obviously, it continues to be a contentious subject matter, not only inter-professionally, but also within the PT profession as well. This can pose problems in large healthcare organizations (like mine) when trying to introduce an invasive procedure into the system policy.
8) Anything you’d like to add (can talk about your personal perspective on how dry needling works, your practice, a specific success story, a joke, the stage is yours…)?
Dry Needling and the fight for it has forever changed and challenged the profession. It has forced the profession to take ownership of and stand up for our scope of practice areas. However, it has also called to attention our standards of education, both institutionally and continuing education. We must be better. The profession has been stale and stagnant for too long. It is imperative we continue to explore the bounds of the profession and ultimately look forward to where we fit into the healthcare system.
9) Social media handles (iG, Twitter, Facebook) - for all the follows!
Twitter: @Chris_Juneau3
Facebook: Chris Juneau
IG: cmj027
10) BONUS – If you’ve used Myotech and want to give a comment on the product, we’d love to share it. Otherwise, no worries - the main point of this is to promote DRY NEEDLING, not just product.
Personally, I can’t say enough about the product. I really appreciate the quality of the brand. The bio-lubricant and needle consistency is impeccable. The only critique I have is the tube glue. This has continued to improve, but overall a small concern in the grand scheme of performance.
