The Effects of Dry Needling on Patients With Knee Pain

Inclusion Criteria: * 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 Criteria: * 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)