The effect of dry needling on pain, pressure pain threshold and disability in patients with a myofascial trigger point in the upper trapezius muscle

Ziaeifar, Maryam; Arab, Amir Massoud; Karimi, Noureddin; Nourbakhsh, Mohammad Reza

doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2013.11.004

Cited by 130 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…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.…”

Section: Study Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…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.…”

Section: Study Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gattie¹,

Cleland²,

Snodgrass³

2017

Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy

207

147

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Study Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Background An increasing number of physical therapists in the United States and throughout the world are using dry needling to treat musculoskeletal pain. Objective To examine the short- and long-term effectiveness of dry needling delivered by a physical therapist for any musculoskeletal pain condition. Methods Electronic databases were searched. Eligible randomized controlled trials included those with human subjects who had musculoskeletal conditions that were treated with dry needling performed by a physical therapist, compared with a control or other intervention. The overall quality of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation. Results The initial search returned 218 articles. After screening, 13 were included. Physiotherapy Evidence Database quality scale scores ranged from 4 to 9 (out of a maximum score of 10), with a median score of 7. Eight meta-analyses were performed. In the immediate to 12-week follow-up period, studies provided evidence that dry needling may decrease pain and increase pressure pain threshold when compared to control/sham or other treatment. At 6 to 12 months, dry needling was favored for decreasing pain, but the treatment effect was not statistically significant. Dry needling, when compared to control/sham treatment, provides a statistically significant effect on functional outcomes, but not when compared to other treatments. Conclusion Very low-quality to moderate-quality evidence suggests that dry needling performed by physical therapists is more effective than no treatment, sham dry needling, and other treatments for reducing pain and improving pressure pain threshold in patients presenting with musculoskeletal pain in the immediate to 12-week follow-up period. Low-quality evidence suggests superior outcomes with dry needling for functional outcomes when compared to no treatment or sham needling. However, no difference in functional outcomes exists when compared to other physical therapy treatments. Evidence of long-term benefit of dry needling is currently lacking. Level of Evidence Therapy, level 1a. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2017;47(3):133–149. Epub 3 Feb 2017. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.7096

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Section: Study Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gattie¹,

Cleland²,

Snodgrass³

2017

Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy

207

147

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…[16][17][18][19][20][21] It has been suggested that DN may influence the microcirculation. Several investigators have reported that needle insertion in the muscles increased both skin and muscle blood flow in the stimulated region.…”

Section: Follow-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…14,15 Although some previous studies have assessed the effect of DN on MTP in UT muscles, a review of the published reports determined that some randomized clinical trials have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of DN in the treatment of MTP in UT muscle. [16][17][18][19][20][21] However, with the use of different designs, samples, and testing procedures, controversial results have been reported regarding the effect of DN on MTP in UT muscles. [16][17][18][19][20][21] Most of the previous studies have assessed the clinical effectiveness of DN immediately after treatment procedures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[16][17][18][19][20][21] However, with the use of different designs, samples, and testing procedures, controversial results have been reported regarding the effect of DN on MTP in UT muscles. [16][17][18][19][20][21] Most of the previous studies have assessed the clinical effectiveness of DN immediately after treatment procedures. 17,[19][20][21] Muscle soreness is a common report after DN application.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Clinical Effectiveness of Dry Needling Immediately After Application on Myofascial Trigger Point in Upper Trapezius Muscle

Ziaeifar

Arab

Nourbakhsh

2016

Journal of Chiropractic Medicine

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of dry needling (DN) on pain intensity and pressure pain threshold (PPT) compared with ischemic compression (IC) immediately and 48 hours after each treatment session in individuals with myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle. Methods: Thirty-one patients with myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle participated in this study. Patients were randomly assigned to a standard (N = 17) or experimental group (N = 14). The treatment protocol for the standard group consisted of IC, whereas the patients in the experimental group received DN. Results: The results indicated that the effect size of the DN methods for pain intensity and PPT was considerably greater after 2 days compared with immediately after the treatment session. In contrast, the effect of the IC for PPT was greater immediately after treatment compared with the measures after 2 days. There was also no noticeable difference in the effect size for IC on pain intensity between the scores obtained immediately and 2 days after treatment. However, our data also revealed a greater effect size for DN on PPT after 2 days compared with the IC technique. Conclusions: In this study, DN improved the pain intensity and PPT after 2 days. However, it had no clinical improvement immediately after application because of muscle soreness. Thus, assessment of the effect of DN immediately after application can be criticized, and the results should be interpreted with caution. (J Chiropr Med 2016;15:252-258)

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Acupuncture for neck disorders

Trinh

Graham

Irnich

et al. 2016

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

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The effect of dry needling on pain, pressure pain threshold and disability in patients with a myofascial trigger point in the upper trapezius muscle

Cited by 130 publications

References 42 publications

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

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

Clinical Effectiveness of Dry Needling Immediately After Application on Myofascial Trigger Point in Upper Trapezius Muscle

Acupuncture for neck disorders

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