Tulo to have dry needling procedure on hip

DENVER -- Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will undergo a dry needling procedure on his left hip Monday in Philadelphia, Rockies head athletic trainer Keith Dugger said Sunday.

Dry needling is using tiny needle punctures to create bleeding to promote healing. The procedure is being done by Dr. William C. Meyers, the same leg and core muscle specialist who performed a procedure to remove scar tissue from Tulowitzki's groin in 2012.

Rockies head athletic trainer Keith Dugger said he sent MRI results to various specialists and set up Tulowitzki's procedure.

"It's not a very invasive thing -- we do it all the time here and he's had it done before," Dugger said. "You use an ultrasound. You get in there where you have the original tear off the stump and just kind of create a little blood right there. You don't want it to scar too much, which is why you don't do PRP [plasma-rich platelet] or stem cell in there."

Dugger said the procedure will not change the expected two-to-three-week healing period.

Tulowitzki's leg muscle injuries have been well chronicled -- a left quadriceps tendon tear in 2008, groin issues near the 2011 All-Star break and the one that required surgery in 2012. Although Tulowitzki spends lengthy periods before and after games on maintenance of the muscles, there is always the risk of injury based on the history.

"We've sent his MRI out to several doctors, and he's dealing with a soft-tissue strain and we need to take care of it," Dugger said. "Any time you have a major muscle tear like he did before, there is an imbalance, no doubt about it."