• Jacobo Rodríguez-Sanz, Albert Pérez-Bellmunt, Carlos López-de-Celis, Cesar Hidalgo-García, Shane L Koppenhaver, Max Canet-Vintró, and César Fernández-de-Las-Peñas.
• Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC-Barcelona), Barcelona, Spain.
• Int. J. Clin. Pract. 2021 Nov 1; 75 (11): e14669.

BackgroundThe popliteus muscle attaches posteriorly to the joint capsule of the knee. Although it is an important rotational stabiliser and has been implicated in various knee pathologies, research on its treatment with dry needling is scarce.ObjectiveTo determine if a needle accurately and safely penetrates the popliteus muscle during the clinical application of dry needling.MethodsA cadaveric descriptive study was conducted. Needling insertion of the popliteus muscle was conducted in 11 cryopreserved cadavers with a 50-mm needle. The needle was inserted at upper third of the posterior part of the tibia closest to the knee towards the popliteus. The needle was advanced into the muscle based upon clinician judgement. Cross-sectional anatomical dissections were photographed and analysed by photometry. Safety of the intervention was assessed by calculating the distance from the tip of the needle to the proximate neurovascular structures.ResultsAccurate needle penetration of the popliteus muscle was observed in 10 out of 11 (91%) of the cadavers (mean needle penetration: 25.7 ± 6.7mm, 95% CI 21.3-30.3 mm). The distances from the tip of the needle were 17±6mm (95% CI 13-21 mm) to the tibial nerve and 15 ± 0.7mm (95% CI 10-20 mm) to the popliteus vascular bundle.ConclusionThe results from this cadaveric study support the notion that needling of the popliteus can be accurately and safely conducted by an experienced clinician. Future studies investigating the clinical effectiveness of these interventions are needed.© 2021 The Authors. International Journal of Clinical Practice published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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