The Course Resonance Needling
TDN Foundations Course
CPD & Recognition About Truth Register
The Protocol

What is Resonance Needling?

An integrated clinical protocol, named for what happens under the practitioner's hand at the end of it.

The name.

A guitar string held too tight doesn't ring true — it buzzes, it resists the pluck. Loosen it to the right point and it resonates: clean, immediate. Hypertonic muscle behaves the same way.

That's the endpoint we're built around — not a fixed dose of needle time, but a felt change in the tissue, confirmed by the patient's own movement.

The clinical endpoint

Resonance is reached when a hypertonic band stops resisting and starts moving like the muscle tissue around it — verified by an immediate post-needling movement retest, not assumed from time on the table.

The Protocol

Five steps. Per needle.

Pointer Excel II electropen clips attached during treatment
01

Assess

A movement test, before every needle. Sets the baseline step five is measured against.

IJSPT 2025 consensus
02

Palpate

The left hand never leaves the tissue — tracking the taut band, confirming placement without looking away.

Hong 1994
03

Needle

Deep or Baldry superficial technique, matched to presentation, depth and patient tolerance.

Shah et al. 2008
04

Stimulate

Pointer Excel II to the needle handle. A low-frequency phase until rhythmic, then a short high-frequency phase — always with warning first.

Han 2003
05

Retest

Same movement test, right after withdrawal. This is where resonance is confirmed — or the point gets reworked.

Zuccolotto Moro et al. 2024
The Evidence

Every component is supported.

Resonance Needling isn't a single novel claim — it's an integration of separately validated components. Here's the research behind each stage of the protocol, presented plainly.

01

Shah et al., 2008

Trigger points show measurably elevated inflammatory and neuroactive chemical markers at the site — and those markers change with successful treatment.

Shah JP et al. Biochemicals associated with pain and inflammation are elevated in sites near to and remote from active myofascial trigger points. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 2008.
02

Han, 2003

Different electrical stimulation frequencies trigger different neurochemical responses — low frequency favours endorphin release, high frequency favours dynorphin. The physiological basis for a two-phase stimulation protocol.

Han JS. Acupuncture: neuropeptide release produced by electrical stimulation of different frequencies. Trends Neurosci, 2003.
03

Zuccolotto Moro et al., 2024

A randomised controlled trial found needling combined with electrical stimulation produced better outcomes than manual needling alone — the direct rationale for integrating the Pointer Excel II into the protocol.

Zuccolotto Moro et al. Randomised controlled trial, 2024.
04

2025 IJSPT Consensus

A 2025 consensus statement formalised current standards for safe, effective trigger point dry needling training and clinical delivery.

International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2025 Consensus Statement on Dry Needling.
05

Gattie et al., 2017

A systematic review and meta-analysis found dry needling by manual therapists produces significant, moderate short-term pain reduction compared to other treatments.

Gattie E, Cleland JA, Snodgrass S. The Effectiveness of Trigger Point Dry Needling for Musculoskeletal Conditions by Physical Therapists: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 2017.
06

Hong, 1994

The landmark study establishing that eliciting a local twitch response during needling is associated with better clinical outcomes — the basis for the palpate step of the protocol.

Hong CZ. Lidocaine injection versus dry needling to myofascial trigger point. The importance of the local twitch response. Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 1994.
Ready to learn it properly?

Sixteen hours. On real tissue.

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