Immediate and Short Term Effect of Dry Needling on Triceps Surae Range of Motion and Functional Movement: A Randomized Trial

Abstract

Background: Dry needling (DN) has been established as an effective treatment for myofascial pain, however, there are no studies thus far investigating the benefit to movement and motor control. Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to compare differences in a series of outcomes between dry needling, dry needling and stretching, and stretching only in a sample of healthy males. A secondary purpose was to compare change over time. Design: Blinded, randomized controlled trial Methods: Thirty healthy male subjects were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: DN, stretching, or combination DN +stretching. Subjects in the DN group and DN+stretch group received DN to a palpated trigger point (TrP) in the triceps surae to elicit local twitch response. Subjects in the stretch group and DN+stretch group were instructed in a home stretching program for gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. All groups were tested for dorsiflexion range of motion and performed functional tasks (overhead deep squat, and Y-Balance test, Lower Quarter) prior to intervention, directly after intervention, and four days post intervention. Group comparisons were performed using a repeated measure Analysis of Variance and a partial eta squared calculation for effect size. For all measures a p-value of <0.05 was used to determine significance. Cohen's criteria were used to categorize strength of effect size. Results: There were no statistically significant differences among groups for range of motion nor functional measures, with the exception of the deep squat. Proportionally, the DN group improved significantly in deep squat performance (p<0.01) compared to the other groups. Time oriented improvements were seen for the YBT posterior-lateral reach (p=0.02) only. Between groups effect sizes ranged from 0.02 (small) to 0.17 (large). Conclusions: Including DN did not markedly influence range of motion nor functional assessment measures, excluding those seen during the overhead deep squat. Effect measures suggest the lack of significant findings may be an issue of statistical power.

Effects of Dry Needling of Latent Trigger Points on Viscoelastic and Muscular Contractile Properties: Preliminary Results of a Randomized Within-Participant Clinical Trial

“…No significant changes in range of motion were found, either. A single treatment session may not be enough to obtain the range of motion changes which have been reported by others [57]. In fact, differences are found when a greater number of sessions are applied [58].…”

Effects of dry needling in gluteus medius muscle in individuals with chronic ankle instability: a randomized single-blinded controlled clinical trial

“…In addition, the results reported by several authors about the ROM after a DN treatment did not match with what we found in our study. (50) (51) Therefore, further research is needed in order to a better understanding of the possible relationship between the motor control and ROM.…”

Acupuncture and Dry Needling for Sports Performance and Recovery

“…Consecutive weekly treatments can possibly facilitate persistent improvements and reduce the number of injuries within a season in a group of elite youth soccer players (46). Functional movements such as squatting also can be improved with needling (36); however, it was noted in this study that needling was done on one side only, and squatting obviously requires both legs, so the authors thought that needling may elicit a spinal reflex that affects both lower extremities as the mechanism of action.…”