Published Paper Details:

Background: Non-traumatic shoulder pain is the third most common cause of consultations for musculoskeletal pain in primary health care. Despite being one of the most common reasons for consultation, there is no established protocol for treatment due to the complexity of its etiology. However, it has been shown that the presence of myofascial trigger points on the shoulder muscles is a common condition associated with patients suffering from shoulder pain. This protocol has been created which describes the design of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the inclusion of dry needling(DN)within a protocol of manual physiotherapy and therapeutic exercise in the treatment of Chronic Shoulder Pain Of Unspecific origin. Methods: Thirty-six participants aged 18-65 years will be recruited having mechanical chronic shoulder pain on unspecific origin and meeting the inclusion criteria. These will be randomized to one of two interventions, (i) DN, manual physiotherapy and therapeutic exercise or (ii) sham DN, manual physiotherapy and therapeutic exercise. The protocol will cover 6 weeks of treatment, with a 6-month follow-up. Our main outcome measure will be the Visual Analogue Scale For pain. Discussion: This is the first study to combine the use of DN, manual physiotherapy and an exercise program with a 6-monthfollow-up,thus becoming a new contribution to the treatment of chronic shoulder pain, while new lines of research may be established to help determine the effects of D Non chronic shoulder pain and the frequency and proper dosage.