Shoulder pain is one of the most common reasons patients seek care from their primary care physician and Physical Therapist. The most common shoulder diagnosis among these patients is impingement. This diagnosis occurs when soft tissue structures in the shoulder, such as the rotator cuff, are compressed between the bones of the shoulder.
Although a painful condition, in the vast majority of cases shoulder impingement can be treated conservatively with Physical Therapy. In our Boulder and Lafayette Physical Therapy clinics we utilize strength training and manual therapy interventions. In some cases, dry needling may be indicated with some patient populations. A recent research study was conducted to determine how much dry needling influences patient outcomes in Physical Therapy.
A well conducted randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy (Hando et al. 2025). Researchers randomized 121 patients with subacromial pain syndrome (impingement) to one of three groups
- Physical Therapy
- Physical Therapy and Sham (placebo) Dry Needling
- Physical Therapy and Dry Needling
As stated above, each participant received Physical Therapy. This included manual therapy and exercise interventions performed in a clinically pragmatic style based on the Physical Therapist’s discretion. Each of the three groups involved in Physical Therapy received 8-12 visits over 6 weeks. The dry needling group received interventions targeting the neck and shoulder, no more than 3 muscles a day, no more than once a week.
Authors reported all groups improved but there were no significant differences in disability between groups at 6, 26, or 52 weeks. This shows dry needling did not add any significant additional benefits to the participants in the study. Conversely, patients who received dry needling in addition to manual therapy and exercise reported greater pain reduction.
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