Dry Needling For Chronic Neck Pain .
Is adding dry needling to a standard care protocol beneficial in patients with chronic neck pain? A randomized placebo-controlled trial.
Complement Ther Clin Pract . 2024 May:55:101842.Fifty patients with chronic neck pain were randomized to receive dry needling combined with a standard care protocol (n=17), a sham dry needling procedure with the same standard care protocol (n=16), or the standard care protocol alone (n=17). The primary outcome of interest was pain intensity. Secondary outcomes included pressure pain threshold, neck disability, range of movement, activation of deep cervical flexor muscles, kinesiophobia, pain catastrophizing, anxiety, and depression. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and 24 hours post-intervention. Overall, the results of the study revealed that adding dry needling did not significantly improve outcomes compared to the sham procedure or standard care alone, except for a slight improvement in cervical range of motion. These findings suggest that dry needling may not provide additional benefits in the treatment of chronic neck pain when combined with standard care.
Unlock the Full ACE Report
You have access to 4 more FREE articles this month.
Click below to unlock and view this ACE Reports
Unlock Now
Critical appraisals of the latest, high-impact randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews in orthopaedics
Access to OrthoEvidence podcast content, including collaborations with the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, interviews with internationally recognized surgeons, and roundtable discussions on orthopaedic news and topics
Subscription to The Pulse, a twice-weekly evidence-based newsletter designed to help you make better clinical decisions
Exclusive access to original content articles, including in-house systematic reviews, and articles on health research methods and hot orthopaedic topics