Clinically Pressed

Muscle stiffness can be correlated with muscle pain. There are many ways to try and lessen it and in this study, researchers looked at how using TpDN would impact muscle stiffness of three muscle sites (infraspinatus, erector spinae and gastroc). What they found was that the reduction in muscle stiff was immediate but transitory. It happened to reduce immediate after intervention but increased again at 24 hours. This leads to potential impacts on intervention and when/where TpDN or other soft tissue work modalities could be useful in helping reduce muscle stiffness. It doesn’t lend to the idea that only these interventions will help maintain those changes. Interesting study and while it has its limitations (stated by authors) it opens up some interesting ideas for future treatment options. Reference: Kelly, J. P., Koppenhaver, S. L., Michener, L. A., Kolber, M. J., & Cleland, J. A. (2019). Immediate decrease of muscle biomechanics stiffness following dry needling in asymptomatic participants. Journal of B