Does Dry Needling Treatment Make an Extra Contribution to
Conventional Treatment in Hemiplegic Shoulder Pain? A Randomized
Controlled Study
Aim: To evaluate the effect of adding dry needling treatment to
conventional rehabilitation on pain, range of motion, and functionality
on hemiplegic shoulder pain.
Methods: A total of 38 patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain
were divided into two groups.
A multimodal rehabilitation protocol including physical therapy methods
and exercise treatments was applied to both groups (5 sessions per week
for a total of 15 sessions). In addition to the rehabilitation, three
sessions of dry needling treatment were applied for dry needling group.
Pain with visual analog scale, range of motion with a goniometer,
functionality was evaluated by quick disability of the arm, shoulder,
and hand and fugl meyer assessment upper extremity. Evaluations were
made before treatment, after treatment, and at the third month of
treatment.
Results: Patients aged from 30-60 years (mean±SD=53.1± 5.3).
The average duration of HSP was 6.7±1 months. While a significant
improvement was observed in both groups in all parameters after the
treatment, a statistical superiority was found in the dry needling group
(p<0.05). At the 3rd month follow-up, there was no difference
in pain and functionality parameters between the groups, while flexion
and abduction measurements were higher in the dry needling group (p
<0.05).
Conclusion: Adding dry needling treatment to conventional
rehabilitation did not show any difference except for some joint range
of motion measurements in the subacute period.
Keywords: Hemiplegia, shoulder pain, myofascial trigger point,
dry needling.