Hi there,

I have an old shoulder injury which I did to my right shoulder. The first a suspected Wikipedia reference-linkrotator cuff tear and the second, well I'm not quite sure what I did to it. I have had a Wikipedia reference-linkMRI and two ultrasounds all showing very non specific pathologies.

Over the last 12-18 months I developed pain in the biceps tendon and subsequently it was suspected that I also had a subacromion impingement. Because my shoulder was giving me grief, I ended up getting a cortisone injection to help progress rehab and into the bicep sleeve.

I have just started to see a new physiotherapist and trialled dry needling on the infrasprinatus muscle. It's my understanding that by trialling dry needling, my physiotherapist is hoping to get 'better blood flow' into the muscle so that I can start rebuilding the muscle. He believes that there is some muscle wasting and given that I have tried rehab for nearly three years, I guess it is worth trying.

However, I found dry needling to be quite painful. I've had acupuncture before and it has not necessitated the pain I experienced yesterday. Could it be because there is a lot of inflammation in the muscle? Also I had referred pain to the anterior part of the shoulder and it was interesting because I initially thought that the pain was near the long head which is the most painful spot and but after that eased, I had the dull ache in a slightly different spot (possible short head which has shown in my last ultrasound to be slightly thickened).

What I am interested in is the effectiveness of dry needling for treating chronic shoulder injuries and how it really works in improving muscle function.

Advice is greatly appreciated.
angie

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