Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23609584›Full record

Trial reportRheumatology international2014

Short-term improvement following dry needle stimulation of tender points in fibromyalgia.

Benigno Casanueva, Paula Rivas, Baltasar Rodero, Covadonga Quintial, Javier Llorca, Miguel A González-Gay

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Rheumatology international, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Therapeutic approach to fibromyalgia: a consensus statement on pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment from the neuropathic pain special interest group of the Italian neurological society.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. COMPARISON OF DRY NEEDLING VS. SHAM ON THE PERFORMANCE OF VERTICAL JUMP.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2017
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Benigno CasanuevaRheumatology Service at the Specialist Clinic of Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
Paula Rivas
Baltasar Rodero
Covadonga Quintial
Javier Llorca
Miguel A González-Gay
Fundación Marques de Valdecilla · ESUniversidad de Cantabria · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term efficacy of dry needling therapy in patients severely affected by fibromyalgia. One hundred and twenty fibromyalgia patients were randomly divided into two groups. The control group, 56 women and 4 men, and the dry needling group, 54 women and 6 men, who apart from continuing their medical treatment, also underwent weekly 1-h session of dry needling for 6 weeks. At the beginning of the program, there were significant differences in the age (mean 56.26 years in the dry needling group versus 50.82 years in controls, p = 0.01) and McGill Pain Questionnaire [MPQ] (mean 39.07 in dry needling group versus 42.44 in controls, p = 0.03). At the end of treatment, the experimental group showed significant differences in most tests, including Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of pain (p = 0.002), VAS of fatigue (p = 0.02), pain of Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 (SF-36) (p = 0.0007), myalgic score (p = 0.0005), pressure pain threshold (p = 0.002), and global subjective improvement (p = 0.00001). Six weeks after the end of the treatment, the dry needling group still showed significant differences in most tests, including VAS of pain (p = 0.01), VAS of fatigue (p = 0.02), pain of SF-36 (p = 0.01), myalgic score (p = 0.00001), pressure pain threshold (p = 0.0004), and global subjective improvement (p = 0.00001). In conclusion, patients severely affected by fibromyalgia can obtain short-term improvements following weekly dry needling for 6 weeks.

Indexed as

NeedlesAcupuncture AnalgesiaAdultAgedFemaleFibromyalgiaHumansMaleMiddle AgedPain ManagementPain MeasurementTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID23609584
OpenAlexW1972232267

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.