There’s some interesting new research on dry needling for hip arthritis.
The 2025 Clinical Practice Guideline for Hip Osteoarthritis now gives dry needling a Grade A recommendation for people with mild-to-moderate hip osteoarthritis.
That’s a pretty significant change. Dry needling wasn’t even included as a recommendation in the previous 2017 guideline.
Recent studies have found that dry needling muscles around the hip — including the glutes, hip flexors, and TFL — can lead to short-term improvements in pain, hip motion, strength, and function.
That doesn’t mean dry needling “fixes” arthritis.
We think of it more as a way to create a window for movement.
If dry needling helps someone’s hip hurt less or move better, we want to take advantage of that immediately with things like:
strengthening
mobility work
walking
squats and step-ups
returning to exercise or other activities they enjoy
Exercise is still one of the most strongly supported treatments for hip osteoarthritis. Dry needling is simply becoming a better-supported tool to use alongside it.
At Black Bear Physical Therapy in Asheville, that’s generally how we use dry needling: not as the whole treatment, but as one tool that can help someone move and exercise more comfortably.
Because ultimately, the needle isn’t the goal. Moving better is.