Trial reportThe Clinical journal of pain2018
Periosteal Electrical Dry Needling as an Adjunct to Exercise and Manual Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial.
Trial report in The Clinical journal of pain, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 26 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Dry Needling Versus Conventional Physical Therapy in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: a Multi-center Randomized Clinical Trial
Changes in Muscle Activity, Squat, and Gait Kinematics After Dry Needling Treatment of the Low Back: A Pilot Study
Comparison of the Efficacy of Electrical Dry Needling Versus Traditional Physical Therapy in the Treatment of Active Myofascial Trigger Points in Pain, Sensitivity, Functionality and Quality of Life of Patients With Chronic Non-specific Low Back Pain
Efficacy of Percutaneous Electrical Stimulation Compared to Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation in Combination With an Education and Exercise Program in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Periosteal Electrical Dry Needling Efficacy in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions for injury in ballet dancers: A systematic review.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- A dual-database bibliometric analysis on dry needling for pain: Global trends and hotspots from web of science core collection and Scopus (2006-2025).Frontiers in neurologyPooled it
- Trigger Point Electrical Dry Needling with Different Waveforms Plus Intra-Articular Corticosteroid for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2026Trial
- Short-term effectiveness of dry needling on pain and ankle range of motion in athletes with medial tibial stress syndrome- a randomized control trial.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Trial
- Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Dry Needling in the Treatment of Myogenous Temporomandibular Joint Disorders.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Feasibility and Preliminary Effects of Adding Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation to a Pain Education and Exercise Program in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Pathological similarities between degenerative enthesopathy and rheumatic enthesitis: the role of ECM stiffness and Wolff's Law-based mechanical stimulation as a therapeutic strategy.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Review
- Calcific Patellar Tendinopathy. A Case Report Integrating Diagnostic Ultrasound Throughout a Multi-Modal Treatment Approach.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of dry needling combined with exercise therapy versus exercise alone for pain and functional outcomes in knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2026Article
- Trigger Point Electrical Dry Needling with Different Waveforms for Knee Osteoarthritis: Mechanistic Insights and Methodological Considerations [Letter].Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Longitudinal associations between complementary and alternative medicine use and pain trajectories in knee osteoarthritis: a panel analysis from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Therapeutic Potential of Acupuncture in Knee Osteoarthritis: Clinical Efficacy and Mechanistic Insights.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Review
- Efficiency of Lidocaine Intramuscular and Intraosseous Trigger Point Injections in the Treatment of Residual Chronic Pain after Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Decompression Surgery.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- A Review of Current Approaches to Pain Management in Knee Osteoarthritis with a Focus on Italian Clinical Landscape.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Periosteal Dry Needling for Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis: A Prospective Case Series.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Duration of Electro-Dry Needling Does Not Change the Pain Response After Repeated Nociceptive Thermal Stimuli in Asymptomatic Individuals: A Randomized Intervention Study.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of Maitland and Mulligan mobilization methods for adults with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.World journal of clinical cases · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo compare the effects of adding electrical dry needling into a manual therapy (MT) and exercise program on pain, stiffness, function, and disability in individuals with painful knee osteoarthritis (OA). MATERIALS AND
methodsIn total, 242 participants (n=242) with painful knee OA were randomized to receive 6 weeks of electrical dry needling, MT, and exercise (n=121) or MT and exercise (n=121). The primary outcome was related-disability as assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index at 3 months.
resultsIndividuals receiving the combination of electrical dry needling, MT, and exercise experienced significantly greater improvements in related-disability (WOMAC: F=35.504; P<0.001) than those receiving MT and exercise alone at 6 weeks and 3 months. Patients receiving electrical dry needling were 1.7 times more likely to have completely stopped taking medication for their pain at 3 months than individuals receiving MT and exercise (OR, 1.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.24-2.01; P=0.001). On the basis of the cutoff score of ≥5 on the global rating of change, significantly (χ=14.887; P<0.001) more patients (n=91, 75%) within the dry needling group achieved a successful outcome compared with the MT and exercise group (n=22, 18%) at 3 months. Effect sizes were large (standardized mean differences >0.82) for all outcome measures in favor of the electrical dry needling group at 3 months. DISCUSSION: The inclusion of electrical dry needling into a MT and exercise program was more effective for improving pain, function, and related-disability than the application of MT and exercise alone in individuals with painful knee OA. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 1b-therapy. Prospectively registered February 10, 2015 on www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02373631).
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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.