Functionality and jump performance in patellar tendinopathy with the application of three different treatments.

Researchers compared three approaches to treating patellar tendinopathy, a common overuse injury affecting the tendon below the kneecap. All 48 participants received eccentric exercise training, which involves slowly lowering the knee under load. One group also received dry needling, another received percutaneous electrolysis (a technique that uses electrical current through a needle), and a third received sham needling as a control.

Both function and jumping ability, measured through squat jumps and counter-movement jumps, improved noticeably across all three groups over the study period. The dry needling group showed a modest additional benefit in eccentric power during jumping. The researchers also found that improvements in knee function tracked alongside improvements in jump performance within the dry needling group, suggesting these measures may be related.

This study followed people with patellar tendinopathy who received eccentric exercise combined with one of two types of needling treatment or a sham procedure. Everyone improved in their ability to function with the injury and in their jumping performance over time, regardless of which group they were in.

The group receiving dry needling showed a slight edge in eccentric power, which relates to controlling movement while lowering the body. The good news is that all participants experienced meaningful gains in function, which suggests that the core treatment, eccentric exercise, was working for everyone.

The study was relatively small and conducted over a short to medium time frame, so longer-term outcomes remain unclear.

This is a summary of research, not medical advice. Talk to your own healthcare provider about anything affecting your care.

This double-blinded RCT adds nuance to the dry needling conversation in patellar tendinopathy management. The most robust finding is that eccentric exercise produced significant improvements in function across all groups, suggesting this remains a cornerstone intervention.

The dry needling group showed a statistically significant improvement in eccentric power during jumping that the control group did not, though the magnitude of this effect is modest. A moderate correlation emerged between changes in knee function and changes in jumping performance metrics specifically within the dry needling group, which raises an interesting question about whether the intervention mechanically linked these two improvements or whether this represents a coincidental association.

The sample size was modest and follow-up duration was relatively short, limiting generalisability. The finding that sham needling plus eccentric exercise produced similar functional gains to active needling plus eccentric exercise underscores the role of expectation and rehabilitation consistency in these conditions.