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Study on Dry Needling for Knee Pain

This study is looking at how effective "dry needling" is for people with knee pain, specifically patellofemoral pain syndrome (pain around the kneecap). Dry needling uses very thin needles inserted into muscles to help them relax and reduce pain. The study will compare dry needling to a sham dry needling (where needles don't actually penetrate the skin) and standard physical therapy. Researchers want to see if dry needling improves pain and function. You might be able to join if you are 18-40 years old, have had knee pain for at least 3 months, and are referred for physical therapy. The study will measure changes in your knee pain and function after 3 weeks. The current status of this study is unclear.

Study design
This study is interventional and plans to enroll 120 participants. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of five groups: gluteal dry needling, quadriceps dry needling, sham gluteal dry needling, sham quadriceps dry needling, or a control group receiving only physical therapy.
What's involved
You would receive an initial physical therapy (PT) evaluation and then 2 additional PT sessions a week apart. If in a dry needling or sham dry needling group, you would have 2 sessions of needling over 2 consecutive weeks.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Measurements will be taken at the beginning of the study and again at week 3.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT02890485

The Effects of Dry Needling on Patients With Knee Pain

Recruiting
NAAges 18–40InterventionalTreatment
Ohio State University
~120 participants
Updated 2026-02-25 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Dry NeedlingSham Dry NeedlingPhysical Therapy

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Change from Baseline Anterior Knee Pain Scale (AKPS) score to 3 weeks
Measured over Baseline and Post testing (week 3)
+1 more outcome measured

Conditions

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Anterior Knee Pain Syndrome

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NCT02890485

Where you'd take part

This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.

  • The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

    Columbus, Ohiostudy coordinator listed

    Recruiting

Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.

Study leadership

  • Matthew S Briggs, DPT, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Ohio State University

Who to contact

Kat Rethman, DPT
[email protected]
614-293-2385
Email the study team

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

18-40 years-of-age
Referred for physical therapy
Presence of anterior knee pain around the patella during ascending/descending stairs, squatting, and/or running for at least 3 months.

Exclusion

Unable to provide consent
Bilateral patellofemoral pain syndrome
Received previous dry needling treatments
Pregnancy
History of pain less than 3 months
Imaging demonstrating the presence of confounding internal abnormality (e.g. chondral defects, ligamentous injury, and/or meniscal pathology),
Patellar instability
Presence of a neurological condition that would affect movement
Contraindications to dry needling techniques (e.g. a history of bleeding disorders, phobia of needles, an active cancer diagnosis, and presence of other systemic illness such as fever or signs of infection)
Actively receiving treatment for knee pain outside of the current study protocol while enrolled in the study;
received active and supervised PT treatment for knee pain within the last 4 weeks;
history of knee surgery less than 6 months ago
history of surgical correction of the patellofemoral complex (e.g. MPFL reconstruction, patellar realignment surgery, etc)

What this trial measures

  • Change from Baseline Anterior Knee Pain Scale (AKPS) score to 3 weeksBaseline and Post testing (week 3)

    The AKPS is commonly used to evaluate function in patients with PFPS. It is a 13-item questionnaire with a maximum score of 100. Higher scores are indicative of better function. The minimal detectable change (MDC) and the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) of the AKPS has been reported to be 10 and 13 points respectively and has high test-retest reliability (ICC: 0.81 to 0.95). The standard error of measurement is 3 and has been shown to be valid (0.92).

  • Change from Baseline Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) score to 3 weeksBaseline and Post testing (week 3)

    Pain will be measured using the numeric pain rating scale (NPRS). Patients will be asked to rate their pain on 11-point (0-10) scale with 0 being no pain and 10 being extreme pain. The NPRS is a common measure of pain in patients with PFPS and has been shown to be reliable and responsive (minimal clinically important difference = 2 points).