Suliman Week 2 EBP: Dry Needling and Adhesive Capsulitis

Hey guys! This is Sam's second week article about Dry Needling and Adhesive Capsulitis - he has seen me do quite a bit of needling in the pain management environment, which has been an excellent way to demonstrate many clinical aspects of anatomy, muscle pathology and how muscle pain can (and usually is) a primary limitor of ADL function. He had asked me a question about the current literature on frozen shoulder treatment in regards to multiple modalities based upon this article, which I was very pleased with! He, along with the other students, appear to be very interested in the physical agent and manual therapy side of OT (which makes me personally very happy). This is his summary on his recent find:

Sam:

As I continue my fieldwork and develop better understandings of treatment, one treatment in particular has stuck out. I was unaware largely of the treatment option and effects behind dry needling but was assured by patients of how helpful dry needling has been for them. The article reviewed is based from a view point of dry needling as a primary modality for adhesive capsulitis, better known as frozen shoulder. There are too many factors that can lead to frozen shoulder to pinpoint a singular cause but in general, frozen shoulder occurs from lack of use of the shoulder. In general, this lack of use comes primarily from pain, injury, or physiological ailments such as diabetes. These physical and physiological ailments can lead to stiffness of the glenohumeral joint which is termed frozen shoulder. It is recommended that stretching as well as heat modalities be used to loosen the joint and if results are not achieved, move to surgery. I was interested in this article to find other options to resolve frozen shoulder other than surgery. Dry needling is where that inquisition leads me. In this article, dry needling was used as a primary modality to relieve the symptoms of frozen shoulder. Since currently majority of occupational therapist cannot achieve licensure to needle, I was interested to find out if this option was viable to achieve greater range of motion to assist patients in ADLS/IADLS as it relates. This article concluded that dry needling was a useful option and viable modality to be used to achieve greater range of motion for frozen shoulder. 

Thanks, Sam!

References:

TREATMENT OF NONSPECIFIC THORACIC SPINE PAIN WITH TRIGGER POINT DRY NEEDLING AND INTRAMUSCULAR ELECTRICAL STIMULATION: A CASE SERIES

Jodie M. Rock, Charles E. Rainey. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2014 October; 9(5): 699–711. PMCID: PMC4196334

Trigger point dry needling as an adjunct treatment for a patient with adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder. Derek Clewley, Timothy W. Flynn, Shane Koppenhaver, J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2014 February; 44(2): 92–101. Published online 2013 November 21. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2014.4915