A novel dry needling approach treating subacromial pain syndrome to significantly improve function and reduce pain following plateau with progress using conventional physical therapy interventions: A case report.

There is limited high level research supporting the use of dry needling for mechanical shoulder pain. Dry needling is often used as an adjunct or primary treatment for musculoskeletal pain to address impairments related to muscle pain, range of motion (ROM), and strength deficits. This case study describes a 68-year-old female referred from her Physician to physical therapy (PT) with diagnosis of shoulder impingement syndrome. She underwent 12 sessions of traditional PT including manual therapy and therapeutic exercises with moderate pain reductions, improved ROM, and optimal functional outcomes using the Quick DASH. However, when progress was stalled, Dry needling (DN) was included in the plan of care. Dry needling was then performed as primary treatment to the anterior muscles of the shoulder (pectoralis major, pectoralis minor near the musculotendinous junction), and the latissimus, subscapularis and anterior deltoid) for two treatments resulting in significant improvements with ROM, reduced pain and improved functional outcomes which continued at 6-months with follow-up with patient.