Date of Award
Fall 12-1-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Exercise Science
Department
Kinesiology
First Advisor
Denise Howard
Second Advisor
Brian Serrano
Abstract
Dry needling, a subcutaneous treatment intervention using fine filiform needles, is growing in popularity amongst manual therapists and is used in treating myofascial trigger points, pain, range of motion, and strength, albeit with limited research. This research aimed to measure the effect of dry needling on the shoulder, its impact on external rotation, and abduction range of motion and strength with an asymptomatic cohort of individuals. It is hypothesized that dry needling on a cohort of healthy individuals will not influence both range of motion and strength.
This study consisted of a convenience sample of 20 university students aged 20 – 23. All participants acted as the intervention and control group, with one side of the body receiving the dry needling technique and the other as the control (no dry needling side). Participants underwent baseline strength and range of motion measurements, followed by their first dry-needling session 24 to 48 hours later. A second dry needling session was performed 48 hours after the first with post-intervention measurements taken immediately afterward. After a five to seven-day period, the participant returned for their final, or second post-intervention, measurements of strength and range of motion.
A repeated measures ANOVA, or within-subjects ANOVA with Bonferroni, was performed with the analyses focused on within interaction effect of the range of motion and strength. Pairwise comparisons measured differences between baseline, first post-intervention and second post-intervention. The results showed significant increases in strength over time for abduction with dry needling, which was primarily driven by the female participants (p = .04) as opposed to the male participants (p = .61). Interestingly, the impact of dry needling in strength in both abduction and external rotation for the whole cohort was shown immediately after the second dry needling session, with the first being 48 hours before. With shoulder abduction range of motion there was statistically significant effect in both the standing and supine positions. Interestingly, external rotation range of motion increased significantly with and without dry needling from baseline to the post-intervention two session, one week after the dry needling sessions.
Dry needling may be effective in improving strength and range of motion and the results from this study may provide the impetus for more future research on this topic which may lead to dry needling being an option as a preventative measure with all populations, especially those prone to eventual dysfunction that includes diminished range of motion and strength.