Dry Needling and Thrust Manipulation for Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy

Licensed physical therapists who manage lateral elbow pain in outpatient orthopedic settings, and physical therapist assistants who deliver elbow exercise and manual therapy interventions under the direction of a physical therapist.

Physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and other licensed rehabilitation clinicians who treat lateral elbow tendinopathy in outpatient practice.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course is based on a single source: Dunning J, Mourad F, Bliton P, Charlebois C, Gorby P, Zacharko N, Layson B, Maselli F, Young I, Fernández-de-las-Peñas C. Percutaneous tendon dry needling and thrust manipulation as an adjunct to multimodal physical therapy in patients with lateral elbow tendinopathy: A multicenter randomized clinical trial. Clinical Rehabilitation. 2024. DOI: 10.1177/02692155241249968. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03167710.

All findings, figures, and conclusions presented in this course come from that trial report. No outside claims have been added.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the population, the two treatment arms, and the primary outcome used in this multicenter randomized trial of lateral elbow tendinopathy.
2. State what the trial found for elbow pain, disability, function, medication use, and patient-reported recovery at the three-month follow-up.
3. Explain the limitations the authors identified, including the short follow-up, the absence of a placebo-needling arm, and the reported side effects of needling.

1. Start Here: how this course works and what it covers
2. Podcast: Needling and Manipulation for Tennis Elbow (about nine minutes)
3. Tennis Elbow and the Question This Trial Asked
4. Inside the Trial: Clinics, Clinicians, and the Two Treatment Programs
5. What Changed at One Week, Four Weeks, and Three Months
6. Side Effects, Study Limits, and Where Guidelines Disagree
7. Reading the Results into Everyday Elbow Care
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-test and course evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course is based on a single source: Dunning J, Mourad F, Bliton P, Charlebois C, Gorby P, Zacharko N, Layson B, Maselli F, Young I, Fernández-de-las-Peñas C. Percutaneous tendon dry needling and thrust manipulation as an adjunct to multimodal physical therapy in patients with lateral elbow tendinopathy: A multicenter randomized clinical trial. Clinical Rehabilitation. 2024. DOI: 10.1177/02692155241249968. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03167710.
2. All findings, figures, and conclusions presented in this course come from that trial report. No outside claims have been added.