Impact of dry needling and ischemic pressure in the myofascial syndrome: controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Introduction Musculoskeletal pain is a common clinical condition and about 10% of the population have musculoskeletal disorder. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate whether ischemic pressure and dry needling techniques are able to reduce the pain of patients with myofascial pain syndrome. Method 22 patients aged 20-75 years were randomized into 3 groups: ischemic pressure (IPG = 8), dry needling (DNG = 7) and control (CG = 7). Patients in the IPG and DNG were assessed before and after 10 intervention sessions, which occurred 3 times per week. The CG was assessed initially and reassessed three weeks later. The assessment of pain was done through Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) and quality of life through WHOQOL-BREF (5 domains: global, physical, psychological, social and environmental). Results There was no significant difference for clinical and demographic data of all groups at baseline, except for age (p = 0.042). The results of the VAS expressed that IPG had pain relief in most sessions, the same was not observed for DNG. Comparing the 2 groups was obtained difference in the 4th and 8th sessions. The results of the WHOQOL-BREF showed that the three groups had a significant increase in the psychological domain. The same was not true for global domains, physical, environmental and social. Conclusion Ischemic pressure and dry needling were able to reduce the pain of patients and also change their quality of life, specifically the psychological aspect.

The Effectiveness of Trigger Point Dry Needling for Musculoskeletal Conditions by Physical Therapists: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

“…After the full review process, 12 studies were selected for inclusion. 2,7,12,24,27,28,32,33,35,36,38,43 After contact with primary authors of included studies, 1 further study was identified for inclusion, 6 resulting in a total of 13 studies. The absolute degree of rater agreement for the first and second stages of the study selection was 86% and 93%, respectively.…”

“…This systematic review focused on musculoskeletal pain and included 13 studies: 6 on neck pain (5 on mechanical neck pain 6,24,28,32,43 and 1 on chronic whiplash-associated disorder 38 ), 1 on postoperative shoulder pain, 2 1 on chronic lower back pain, 33 1 on total knee arthroplasty, 27 1 on chronic ankle instability, 35 2 on myofascial pain, 12,36 and 1 on fibromyalgia. 7 Inclusion and exclusion criteria varied greatly across the studies.…”

“…Seven studies 7,12,27,28,32,36,38 examined the immediate to 12-week effects of dry needling, and 6 7,12,27,28,32,38 were able to be grouped for meta-analyses to determine the effect on pain (FIGURE 3). There is low-quality evidence suggesting a moderate effect 8 (SMD, -0.7; 95% CI: -1.06, -0.34) favoring dry needling over control/sham.…”

“…Five studies 7,27,32,36,38 assessed functional outcomes versus control/sham during the immediate to 12-week followup (FIGURE 5). There is low-quality evidence suggesting a small effect 8 (SMD, -0.44; 95% CI: -0.85, -0.04) favoring dry needling over control/sham.…”

“…Six studies 2,6,24,35,36,43 assessed functional outcomes versus other treatment over various periods ranging from 1 week to 12 weeks (FIGURE 10). There is very low-quality evidence suggesting no treatment effect (SMD, -0.01; 95% CI: -0.49, 0.47) of dry needling over other treatments.…”