SynthesisMedicine2018
Is dry needling effective for low back pain?: A systematic review and PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 32 papers, 5 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.
Effectiveness of Dry Needling on Pain, Functional Disability, Postural Control and Pain Pressure Threshold in Patients With Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Double-Blind Randomised Controlled Trial
Comparison Between Pragmatically Applied Orthopedic Manual Therapy and Dry Needling for Low Back Pain.
Dry Needling Versus Percutaneous Electrolysis in Lumbar Multifidus Muscles in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dry Needling in Sports and Sport Recovery: A Systematic Review with an Evidence Gap Map.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of neuromobilization in the treatment of low back pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Treating myofascial pain with dry needling: a systematic review for the best evidence-based practices in low back pain.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2023Pooled it
- Acupuncture for the Management of Low Back Pain.Current pain and headache reports · 2021Pooled it
- Acupuncture for the Relief of Chronic Pain: A Synthesis of Systematic Reviews.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2019Pooled it
- Dry needling of the gluteus-medius muscle, combined with standard care, for chronic low back pain - a pilot randomized sham-controlled trial.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Trial
- The effectiveness of dry needling in patients with chronic low back pain: a prospective, randomized, single-blinded study.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Effect of dry needling on lumbar muscle stiffness in patients with low back pain: A double blind, randomized controlled trial using shear wave elastography.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2022Trial
- Article
- Prevalence of Myofascial Trigger Points in Patients with Radiating and Non-Radiating Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Pain and Disability Therapy with Stabilization Exercises in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Effects of different treatments on pain, functional disability, position sense and range of motion in elite bodybuilders with chronic low back pain.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Pneumothorax as a complication of dry needling technique.ERJ open research · 2024Article
- Inferior-Medial Dry Needling at the Thoracolumbar Junction: A Cadaveric Study.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2024Article
- Physiotherapy combined with dry needling among patients with chronic low back pain: Study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 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
- Clinical Effectiveness of Dry Needling in Patients with Musculoskeletal Pain-An Umbrella Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Safety Considerations When Dry Needling the Multifidi in the Thoracolumbar Region: A Cadaveric Study.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2023Article
- Meta-analysis of the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of low back fasciitis.American journal of translational research · 2023Review
- Correlation between Anthropometric and Ultrasound Measurement for Dry Needling of the Iliocostalis Lumborum Muscle with a Safety Protocol: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 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
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of dry needling (DN) for treating low back pain (LBP).
methodsNine databases were searched from inception to October 2017. Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving DN for treating LBP were retrieved. Two reviewers independently screened the articles, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias among the included studies using the risk of bias assessment tool by Cochrane Collaboration.
resultsSixteen RCTs were included and the risk of bias assessment of them was "high" or "unclear" for most domains. Meta-analysis results suggested that DN was more effective than acupuncture in alleviating pain intensity and functional disability at postintervention, while its efficacy on pain and disability at follow-up was only equal to acupuncture. Besides, DN was superior to sham needling for alleviating pain intensity at postintervention/follow-up and functional disability at postintervention. Additionally, qualitative review revealed that DN combined with acupuncture had more significant effect on alleviating pain intensity at postintervention and achieved higher response rate than DN alone. However, compared with other treatments (laser, physical therapy, other combined treatments, etc.), it remained uncertain whether the efficacy of DN was superior or equal because the results of included studies were mixed.
conclusionsCompared with acupuncture and sham needling, DN is more effective for alleviating pain and disability at postintervention in LBP, while its effectiveness on pain and disability at follow-up was equal to acupuncture. Besides, it remains uncertain whether the efficacy of DN is superior to other treatments. Nevertheless, considering the overall "high" or "unclear" risk of bias of studies, all current evidence is not robust to draw a firm conclusion regarding the efficacy and safety of DN for LBP. Future RCTs with rigorous methodologies are required to confirm our findings. DETAILS OF ETHICS APPROVAL: No ethical approval was required for this systematic review and meta-analysis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.