General | 04/20/2022

Intricate Art Seminars Website

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict athletic department prides itself on having a training room dedicated to women and two full-time certified athletic trainers with expansive knowledge on how to treat injuries specific to female athletes.
 
Now, CSB's athletic training room will have even more tools to better serve the Bennie athletes.
 
Rachel Hassler – CSB's assistant athletic trainer – received NCAA grant funding to attend a dry needling conference this summer to bring a new skill back to campus.
 
Hassler, who is currently in her fourth season as Saint Benedict's associate athletic trainer, will attend Dry Needling 1, put on by Intricate Art Spine & Body Solutions this summer in Duluth. That course allows Hassler to become a Certified Specialist in DN 1 so that she can add dry needling to the list of services the CSB training room offers to its student-athletes.
 
The dry needling course will include an overview of the practice's history, safety and current research, as well as common signs and symptoms of injuries or ailments and potential dry needling treatment routes. Safety precautions and the proper handling of potential blood borne pathogens linked with dry needling are also important parts of the course. Throughout the 27-hour course, Hassler will write a case study and pass both oral and practical exams in order to earn her certificate.
 
A certified dry needling specialist uses a thin monofilament needle to penetrate the athlete's skin to treat underlying muscular trigger points for the management of pain and movement impairments. It can decrease banding or tightness, increase blood flow and reduce local pain. When used with physical therapy or other treatment opportunities in the CSB athletic training room, dry needling may help student-athletes with joint or disk problems, tendinitis, migraines and tension headaches, repetitive motion disorders and spinal problems, among other ailments.
 
"I am excited for Rachel to attend this course in Dry Needling," CSB's head athletic trainer Erin Ross said. "The practice of dry needling has so many potential benefits for the health and performance of for the women student-athletes we serve."