Meet Ben Cowin DC, MS, ATC, CAFS
Owner - Action Spine & Sports Medicine, Denver, Colorado (www.actionspinedenver.com)
We've known and followed Ben for several years and aside from being the owner of Action Spine & Sports Medicine in Denver, you'll find him in the training room and on the sidelines for US Men's Rugby competition. He's been a part of National Championship teams and recently travelled with the team to Rio for the Olympics. Ben's a brilliant clinician with specialization in sports medicine, injury prevention, team medical management, and return to sport rehab.
Take a minute to meet Ben and hear how he uses dry needling in his practice!
Social media handles (iG, Twitter, Facebook)
IG: @SportsDocBen, @actionspinedenver
Twitter: @SportsDocBen, @ActionSpineDnvr
FB: @SportsDocBen
What clientele do you treat/specialize in?
Sports medicine + athletes. Specifically elite amateur & professional athletes focusing on rapid return to play criteria.
How long have you been dry needling?
4 years
How has dry needling changed/enhanced/improved your practice?
For me dry needling has given me an added tool to elicit an immediate and longer lasting neurological effect to the musculoskeletal problems I encounter on a daily basis.
What other treatments do you find valuable in combination with DN?
It depends on what the treatment objectives are, but the majority of my needling treatment I do is pistoning. So I don’t do a lot of ancillary work during the actual DN portion of treatment. Post DN, I typically will use vibration therapy in the form of Rapid Release Technology (RRT). We also utilize a healthy amount of biomechanical taping in the form of Dynamic Tape to reinforce the biomechanics post neurological stimulation. And then homework in the form of one or two exercises (just enough to encourage proper mechanics, but not interfere with their daily training regimen) for continued reinforcement between treatment sessions.
What do you see as positives and negatives of DN in your practice?
Positives being the impact is immediate. A therapist can see an immediate change in range of motion, strength and more importantly function. The only negative we find is the soreness it can leave an athlete with. This is why when I travel, I am very cautious about DN on match days. However, since switching to the Myotech needle, I’ve noticed a major change with this. The fact that this needle is coated in parylene, vs the very tip, I am able to piston the needle more without the muscle irritation from friction.
Thanks for sharing, Ben. Our hope at iDryNeedle is to build a community of clinicians to learn from, support, and elevate the practice of dry needling to better serve our patients - thanks for reading and being a part of this.