Dry Needling in Post-operative Shoulder Pain

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INCLUSION OF TRIGGER POINT DRY NEEDLING INTO A MULTIMODAL PHYSICAL THERAPY PROGRAM FOR POST-OPERATIVE SHOULDER PAIN

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02122315

Enrollment

Registered

2014-04-24

Start date

2013-02-28

Completion date

2013-04-30

Last updated

2014-04-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Proximal Humeral Fracture Fixated With PHILOS© Plate, Rotator Cuff Tear Surgical Repair

Brief summary

Fractures of the proximal humerus account for between 5% and 8% off all reported fractures. Post-operative shoulder pain is highly frequent. Due to either surgical procedure, soft tissues surrounding the shoulder area can be damaged. The purpose of the current clinical trial was to compare the effects of physiotherapy versus physiotherapy plus TrP-DN on pain and function in patients who exhibit post-operative shoulder pain after a PHILOS procedure for proximal humeral fixation or rotator cuff tear repair.

Interventions

OTHERPhysical therapy plus dry needling

Best-evidence physical therapy intervention in addition to a single session of TrP-DN targeted to active TrPs in the neck-shoulder muscles

OTHERPhysical therapy

Best-evidence physical therapy intervention

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* proximal humeral fracture * rotator cuff tear * open reduction and internal fixation with PHILOS© plate (Synthes, Switzerland) * rotator cuff tear repair * post-operative shoulder pain * active TrPs in the neck-shoulder muscles

Exclusion criteria

* no active TrPs * multiple fracture * previous surgery * cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy * diagnosis of fibromialgia * having undergone any physical therapy intervention in the year before the surgery * fear of needles * any contraindication for dry needling

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Changes in Constant-Murley score before and after the intervention	Baseline and one week after the intervention	The Constant-Murley score is a 100-point scoring system that is divided into 4 main sub-scales: pain (15 points); activities of daily living (20 points); range of motion (40 points); and strength (25 points). Higher score represents better function

Countries

Spain

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026