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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2022 Feb 24;12(1):3188.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-07063-0.

Dry needling in active or latent trigger point in patients with neck pain: a randomized clinical trial

Luis Martín-Sacristán  1   2   3   4 , Cesar Calvo-Lobo  5 , Daniel Pecos-Martín  6   7 , Josué Fernández-Carnero  8   9   10   11   12   13   14 , José Luis Alonso-Pérez  15   16   17   18
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Dry needling in active or latent trigger point in patients with neck pain: a randomized clinical trial

Luis Martín-Sacristán et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The purpose was to determine the efficacy of deep dry needling (DDN) applied on an active myofascial trigger point (MTrP) versus a latent-MTrP versus a non-MTrP location, on pain reduction and cervical disability, in patients with chronic neck pain. A randomized, double-blind clinical trial design was used. A sample of 65 patients was divided into non-MTrP-DDN, active-MTrP-DDN and latent-MTrP-DDN groups. The visual analog scale (VAS), reproduction of the patient's pain, number of local twitch responses, pressure pain threshold (PPT) and Neck Disability Index (NDI) were assessed before, during and after the intervention and up to 1 month post-intervention. The active-MTrP-DDN-group reduced pain intensity more than non-MTrP-DDN-group after a week and a month (P < 0.01), as well as showing the greatest improvement in tibialis muscle PPT. The treatment of both Active and Latent MTrPs was associated with the reproduction of the patient's pain. The application of DDN on an active-MTrP in the upper trapezius muscle shows greater improvements in pain intensity after 1 week and 1 month post-intervention, compared to DDN applied in latent-MTrPs or outside of MTrPs in patients with neck pain.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pain intensity at 1 week.
Figure 3
Figure 3
PPT trapezius muscle.
Figure 4
Figure 4
PPT over tibialis muscle.
Figure 5
Figure 5
PPT expansion.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Neck Disability Index.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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