Dry needling boosts perceived financial value but not perceived therapeutic effectiveness: A randomized controlled...

This study investigates the general public's financial and therapeutic perception of various physical therapy interventions. Adding dry needling to a physical therapy session was hypothesized to elevate the session's perceived financial and therapeutic value.

This study aimed to investigate perceptions of dry needling with electrical stimulation to understand its appeal.

Participants were randomly assigned using a computer-generated randomization sequence to one of two groups: an experimental group (n = 169), which watched video clips of a physical therapy session including dry needling with electrical stimulation, or a control group (n = 169), which watched similar clips but with therapeutic exercise replacing dry needling. After viewing the clips, participants completed a survey rating the perceived cost and therapeutic effectiveness of each intervention, as well as the overall treatment.

A total of 252 participants finished the study (119 experimental, 133 control). The results showed that adding dry needling to a session led to a 29 % higher perceived financial value compared to the control group. Additionally, dry needling was perceived to cost more than any other individual intervention. While perceived therapeutic value was high for both groups, there was no significant difference between the experimental and control group.

The addition of dry needling with electrical stimulation to a physical therapy session appears to have increased perceived financial value of the session, however, did not affect perceived therapeutic effectiveness. These findings may be useful to physical therapy clinic owners seeking evidence-based marketing strategies to attract and retain new patients.