The effects of dry needling on muscle blood flow of the infraspinatus muscle in individuals with shoulder pain - a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Individuals with shoulder pain have a higher occurrence of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs). In the past decade, dry needling (DN) has been used in physical therapy practice to treat MTrPs. Impaired blood flow is proposed as an underlying mechanism of MTrPs in neck-shoulder pain.

Blood Flow of the Infraspinatus Muscle in Individuals With and Without Shoulder Pain and Myofascial Trigger Points: A Color Doppler Ultrasound and Reliability Study.

Objectives: Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) are potential contributors to shoulder pain and can lead to local ischemia and hypoxia, thus causing pain. Color Doppler ultrasound (US) has been used to examine the vascular environment around MTrPs, but has not been used to examine blood flow impairments in patients with shoulder pain and MTrPs. The reliability of color Doppler US for measuring infraspinatus muscle blood flow also has not been established.

Reliability and Comparison of Spinal End-Range Motion Assessment Using a Skin-Surface Device in Participants With and Without Low Back Pain.

Objective: The purposes of this study were to determine the reliability of using a skin-surface device to measure global and segmental thoracic and lumbar spine motion in participants with and without low back pain (LBP) and to compare global thoracic and lumbar motion between the 2 groups.

Methods: Forty participants were included in the study (20 adults with LBP and 20 age- and sex-matched adults without LBP). On the same day, 2 raters independently measured thoracic and lumbar spine motion by rolling a skin-surface device along the spine from C7 to S3, with participants at their end range of standing flexion and extension.