Effects of dry needling on tendon-pulley architecture, pain and hand function in patients with trigger finger: a randomized controlled trial study.
Morteza Azizian, Hossein Bagheri, Gholam Olyaei and 5 others
PMID 31036998WHAT IT FOUND
One dry needling session lowered pain, improved hand function and pinch grip, and reduced A1 pulley and tendon thickness one week after treatment in trigger finger.
Control showed little change.
Key findings
01The dry needling group had significant group-by-time differences for pain, DASH, pinch grip, A1 pulley thickness and tendon thickness at one week.
02From before to one week after, the dry needling group moved from VAS 4.43 to 1.79, DASH 23.81 to 19.24, pinch grip 4.6 kg to 5.40 kg, A1 pulley 1.19 mm to 0.97 mm, and tendon thickness 3.91 mm to 3.78 mm, while the control group changed little.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only one dry needling session was tested, and outcomes were measured only one week later, so long-term benefit is unknown. The control group did not receive a sham needle or comparable attention, so placebo and expectation effects cannot be separated. The paper does not report dropouts, adverse events, or whether all randomized participants were analysed at one week. The sample was 58 adults aged 45 to 75 years with grades 1 to 3 trigger finger, so results may not apply to more severe fixed deformity or other populations. The paper does not name one primary outcome among the several measured outcomes, so the positive findings are spread across multiple endpoints.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by the International Campus, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that dry needling is a proven long-term treatment for trigger finger. This trial tested only one session and measured outcomes one week later, so durability and comparison with injections or surgery are not shown.