Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27582622›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of manual & manipulative therapy2016

Dry needling of the trapezius muscle in office workers with neck pain: a randomized clinical trial.

Ester Cerezo-Téllez, María Torres Lacomba, Isabel Fuentes-Gallardo, Orlando Mayoral Del Moral, Beatriz Rodrigo-Medina, Carlos Gutiérrez Ortega

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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

22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 88 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Effect of Hamstring Stretching on Pain at Masseter Muscle and Mouth Opening: A Systematic Review.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026
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  3. WITHDRAWN: Acupuncture for neck disorders.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016
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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.

Ester Cerezo-TéllezAlcalá de Henares University, Physical Therapy in Women's Health Research Group, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
María Torres LacombaAlcalá de Henares University, Physical Therapy in Women's Health Research Group, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
Isabel Fuentes-GallardoAlcalá de Henares University, Physical Therapy in Women's Health Research Group, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Primary Health Care, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
Orlando Mayoral Del MoralAlcalá de Henares University, Physical Therapy in Women's Health Research Group, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Physical Therapy Unit, Provincial Hospital, Toledo, Spain.
Beatriz Rodrigo-MedinaHealth Care, Guadalajara, Spain.
Carlos Gutiérrez OrtegaAlcalá de Henares University, Physical Therapy in Women's Health Research Group, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Department of Epidemiology (Preventive Medicine), Central de la Defensa Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
Universidad de Alcalá · ESComplejo Hospitalario Universitario de Toledo · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNeck pain is a frequent complaint in office workers. This pain can be caused by myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in the trapezius muscle. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of deep dry needling (DDN) of active MTrPs in the trapezius muscle.

methodsA randomized, single blinded clinical trial was carried out at the Physical Therapy Department at Physiotherapy in Women's Health Research Group at Physical Therapy Department of University of Alcalá, in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. Forty-four office workers with neck pain and active MTrPs in the trapezius muscle were randomly allocated to either the DDN or the control group (CG). The participants in the DDN group were treated with DDN of all MTrPs found in the trapezius muscle. They also received passive stretch of the trapezius muscle. The CG received the same passive stretch of the trapezius muscle only. The primary outcome measure was subjective pain intensity, measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary outcomes were pressure pain threshold (PPT), cervical range of motion (CROM) and muscle strength. Data were collected at baseline, after interventions and 15 days after the last treatment.

resultsDifferences were found between the DDN group and the CG for the VAS (P < 0.001), PPT (P < 0.001), range of motion (AROM) (P < 0.05) and strength (P < 0.05) after intervention and at the 15-day follow-up. DISCUSSION: Deep dry needling and passive stretch seems to be more effective than passive stretch only. The effects are maintained in the short term. The results support the use of DDN in the management of trapezius muscle myofascial pain syndrome in neck pain.

Indexed as

Dry needlingMuscle stretching exercisesMyofascial pain syndromesMyofascial trigger pointNeck painPhysical therapy

Identifiers

PMID27582622
PMCPMC4987146
OpenAlexW2121106618

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.