Dry Needling and Upper Cervical Manipulation for TMD

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who see patients with jaw pain, limited mouth opening, headache, or neck pain, and who want a clear summary of how a combined needling and upper cervical manipulation approach compared with conventional splint-and-medication care in a randomized trial.

Licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in outpatient orthopedic, craniofacial, and manual therapy settings. Athletic trainers, occupational therapists, chiropractors, and dentists who manage temporomandibular disorder may also find the material relevant. Physical therapist assistants participate in delivering interventions under the direction and supervision of a physical therapist.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Introductory

Delivery format

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

Based on

This course summarizes a single peer-reviewed publication and introduces no claims beyond it.

Dunning J, Butts R, Bliton P, Vathrakokoilis K, Smith G, Lineberger C, Eshleman N, Fernández-de-Las-Peñas C, Young IA. Dry needling and upper cervical spinal manipulation in patients with temporomandibular disorder: A multi-center randomized clinical trial. CRANIO®: The Journal of Craniomandibular & Sleep Practice. Published online 2022. Open access under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03409874.

A note on author interests

The trial’s disclosure statement reports that several authors are senior instructors for, or direct, a postgraduate fellowship organization that teaches spinal manipulation and dry needling. The study received no funding. This course reports the trial’s findings and its stated limits; it does not endorse any training pathway or technique.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the two treatment approaches compared in this multi-center randomized trial and the population of patients with temporomandibular disorder who were enrolled.
2. State the direction of the trial's findings for jaw pain intensity and active pain-free mouth opening at the three-month follow-up.
3. Name the side effects reported in the needling group and the limitations the authors identified when interpreting the results.

1. Start Here: course overview, objectives, and how to earn credit
2. Podcast episode: Needles, Thrusts, and Jaw Pain (about ten minutes)
3. Why Temporomandibular Disorder Was Worth a Head-to-Head Trial
4. Inside the Protocol: Seven Needling Points and a Cervical Thrust
5. Jaw Pain and Mouth Opening Through Three Months
6. Soreness, Bruising, and the Questions the Trial Could Not Settle
7. Reading the Results Into an Outpatient Caseload
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-test and evaluation — five multiple-choice questions confirming you worked through the material, then a short course evaluation. Both are required.

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 summarizes a single peer-reviewed publication and introduces no claims beyond it.
2. Dunning J, Butts R, Bliton P, Vathrakokoilis K, Smith G, Lineberger C, Eshleman N, Fernández-de-Las-Peñas C, Young IA. Dry needling and upper cervical spinal manipulation in patients with temporomandibular disorder: A multi-center randomized clinical trial. CRANIO®: The Journal of Craniomandibular & Sleep Practice. Published online 2022. Open access under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03409874.
3. A note on author interests
4. The trial's disclosure statement reports that several authors are senior instructors for, or direct, a postgraduate fellowship organization that teaches spinal manipulation and dry needling. The study received no funding. This course reports the trial's findings and its stated limits; it does not endorse any training pathway or technique.