Beneficial Effects of Dry Needling for Treatment of Chronic Myofascial Pain Persist for 6 Weeks After Treatment Completion.
Lynn H Gerber, Siddhartha Sikdar, Jacqueline V Aredo and 4 others
PMID 27297448WHAT IT FOUND
After three weekly dry needling treatments, pain remained lower than before treatment for 6 weeks in 45 patients with chronic upper trapezius myofascial pain, especially when trigger points changed from active to latent or absent.
There was no comparison group.
Key findings
01At 8 weeks, pain measures were significantly improved from baseline, except the verbal analogue scale at the untreated site in patients with unilateral trigger points.
02Patients whose active trigger points changed to latent or no palpable nodule were counted as responders, and the responder count was significant at 3 weeks and sustained at 8 weeks (p<.001).
03From baseline to 8 weeks, responders' verbal analogue scale pain fell by an adjusted mean of 2.29 points on a 0 to 10 scale, versus 0.46 points in non-responders (p = .006).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study followed only treated patients and did not include a comparison group, so sustained improvement cannot be separated from the natural course of myofascial pain. 8 of the initial subjects had limited follow-up data and were excluded from the 8-week analysis. Participants reported no new treatment for myofascial pain, but the researchers did not confirm this beyond self-report. The sample was a convenience group recruited mainly from a university campus, was young, and spent much time at computer terminals, so it may not represent typical patients with chronic myofascial pain. P-values were reported without adjustment for multiple testing. The responder analysis was not part of the study design, and only two time points were available, so the full course of change over time could not be assessed.
Declared interests
The article text does not provide an author conflicts-of-interest or funding statement. The supplied publication metadata indicates NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that dry needling caused the 6-week persistence of benefit. The paper followed treated patients without a comparison group, and reports of no other treatment were self-reported and unconfirmed.