Contribution of Dry Needling to Individualized Physical Therapy Treatment of Shoulder Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2016 Dec 10;:1-32

Authors: Pérez-Palomares S, Oliván-Blázquez B, Pérez-Palomares A, Gaspar-Calvo E, López-Lapeña E, Pérez-Benito M, De la Torre-Beldarraín ML, Magallon-Botaya R

Abstract
Study Design Multi-center, parallel randomized clinical trial. Background Myofascial trigger points (MTrP) are implicated in shoulder pain and functional limitations. An intervention intended to treat MTrP is dry needling (DN). Objectives To investigate the effectiveness of dry needling in addition to evidence-based personalized physical therapy treatment in the treatment of shoulder pain. Methods 120 patients with non-specific shoulder pain were randomly allocated into two parallel groups: 1) personalized, evidence-based physiotherapy treatment; and 2) trigger point dry needling in addition to personalized evidence-based physiotherapy treatment. Patients were assessed at baseline, post-treatment and 3 months follow-up. The primary outcome measure was the pain assessed by visual analog scale (VAS-pain) at 3 months, and secondary variables were joint range-of-motion limitations, Constant-Murley Score for pain and function, and number of active MTrPs. Clinical efficacy was assessed using intention-to-treat analysis. Results Of the 120 enrolled patients, 63 were randomly assigned to the control group and 57 to the intervention group. There were no significant differences in outcome between the two treatment groups. Both groups showed improvement over time. Conclusion Dry needling does not offer benefits in addition to personalized evidence-based physiotherapy treatment for patients with non-specific shoulder pain.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered 2009, ISRCTN30907460 Level of Evidence Therapy, level 2b. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, Epub 10 Dec 2016. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.6698.

PMID: 27937046 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]