Dry Needling the Gluteus Medius Enthesis: Which Landmark Approach Reaches the Target?

Physical therapists who use or teach dry needling for lateral hip pain, and clinicians who want a plain-language account of how landmark-based needle placement performed when the tissue was opened and inspected.

Licensed physical therapists, including those with dry needling certification or postgraduate manual therapy training. Physical therapist assistants may take the course for background knowledge; evaluation, diagnosis, and plan-of-care decisions remain with the supervising physical therapist.

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

Dinh B, Dunning J, Kearns GA, Thorp L, Charlebois C, Young I. A comparison of dry needle placement accuracy rates between two approaches targeting the gluteus medius osteotendinous junction in cadavers. Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy. Received 25 January 2025; accepted 29 May 2025. doi: 10.1080/10669817.2025.2515581. Open access under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

This course reports only what that article investigated and concluded. No claims, figures, or recommendations from other sources have been added.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe what the investigators compared in embalmed cadavers and how they confirmed where each needle tip came to rest.
2. State the accuracy rate reported for each of the two landmark-based insertion points and where the missed needles were found.
3. Explain the limitations the authors placed on their findings and the technique conclusion they drew for targeting the gluteus medius osteotendinous junction.

1. Start Here: course overview, objectives, and how to earn credit
2. Podcast: Landmarks, Needles, and Dissection Findings (about nine minutes)
3. Lateral Hip Pain and the Gluteus Medius Enthesis
4. Two Landmark Techniques Put to the Test
5. Where the Needles Actually Landed
6. What Embalmed Tissue and a Single Needler Cannot Tell Us
7. Reading the Findings at the Treatment Table
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. Dinh B, Dunning J, Kearns GA, Thorp L, Charlebois C, Young I. A comparison of dry needle placement accuracy rates between two approaches targeting the gluteus medius osteotendinous junction in cadavers. Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy. Received 25 January 2025; accepted 29 May 2025. doi: 10.1080/10669817.2025.2515581. Open access under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
2. This course reports only what that article investigated and concluded. No claims, figures, or recommendations from other sources have been added.