Trial reportAcupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society2017
Therapeutic effects of dry needling in patients with upper trapezius myofascial trigger points.
Trial report in Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Analysis, Comparison and Evaluation of Cervical Range of Motion and Neck Pain After Deep Dry Needling and Superficial Dry Needling in the Upper Trapezius: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Effects of Dry Needling and Phonophoresis on Myofascial Trigger Points Among Patient With Postural Deviation of Cervical Spine
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neurophysiological effects of latent trigger point dry needling on spinal reflexes.Journal of neurophysiology · 2025Trial
- Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Dry Needling in the Treatment of Myogenous Temporomandibular Joint Disorders.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Trial
- Electromyographic Assessment of the Efficacy of Deep Dry Needling versus the Ischemic Compression Technique in Gastrocnemius of Medium-Distance Triathletes.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Trial
- Effects of Trigger Point Dry Needling on Neuromuscular Performance and Pain of Individuals Affected by Patellofemoral Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2020Trial
- Clinical Effectiveness of Dry Needling on Myofascial Trigger Points in Horses: A Prospective Algometric Controlled Study.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Dry Needling in Overhead Athletes with Myofascial Shoulder Pain: A Systematic Review.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Effect of myofascial cupping vs integrated neuromuscular inhibition techniques on pain and neck movement in individuals with latent trigger point in trapezius.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liao · 2023Article
- Article
- Pressure Pain Threshold of the Upper Trapezius Trigger Point: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Baseline Values and Their Modification after Physical Therapy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Short-Term Effects of Dry Needling with a Standard Exercise Program on Pain and Quality of Life in Patients with Chronic Mechanical Neck Pain.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Immediate Effect of Dry Needling on the Viscoelastic Properties of a Trigger Point on the Infraspinatus Muscle Measured with MyotonPRO.Physiotherapy Canada. Physiotherapie Canada · 2022Article
- Neurophysiological and psychophysical effects of dry versus sham needling of the infraspinatus muscle in patients with chronic shoulder pain: a randomized feasibility study.Archives of physiotherapy · 2021Article
- Acute Effects of Dry Needling on Myofascial Trigger Points in the Triceps Surae of Ballet Dancers: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2021Article
- Dry needling for spine related disorders: a scoping review.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2020Article
- Trigger point dry needling for the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome: current perspectives within a pain neuroscience paradigm.Journal of pain research · 2019Article
- Therapeutic Effect of Superficial Acupuncture in Treating Myofascial Pain of the Upper Trapezius Muscle: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundActive myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) are major pain generators in myofascial pain syndrome. Dry needling (DN) is an effective method for the treatment of MTrPs.
objectiveTo assess the immediate neurophysiological and clinical effects of DN in patients with upper trapezius MTrPs.
methodsThis was a prospective, clinical trial study of 20 patients with upper trapezius MTrPs and 20 healthy volunteers (matched for height, weight, body mass index and age), all of whom received one session of DN. Primary outcome measures were neuromuscular junction response (NMJR) and sympathetic skin response (SSR). Secondary outcomes were pain intensity (PI) and pressure pain threshold (PPT). Data were collected at baseline and immediately post-intervention.
resultsAt baseline, SSR amplitude was higher in patients versus healthy volunteers (p<0.003). With respect to NMJR, a clinically abnormal increment and normal reduction was observed in patients and healthy volunteers, respectively. Moreover, PPT of patients was less than healthy volunteers (p<0.0001). After DN, SSR amplitude decreased significantly in patients (p<0.01), but did not change in healthy volunteers. A clinically important reduction in the NMJR of patients and increment in healthy volunteers was demonstrated after DN. PPT increased after DN in patients, but decreased in healthy volunteers (p<0.0001). PI improved after DN in patients (p<0.001).
conclusionsThe results of this study showed that one session of DN targeting active MTrPs appears to reduce hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system and irritability of the motor endplate. DN seems effective at improving symptoms and deactivating active MTrPs, although further research is needed. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: IRCT20130316128.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.