Trial reportThe Journal of manual & manipulative therapy2020
Trigger point dry needling, manual therapy and exercise versus manual therapy and exercise for the management of Achilles tendinopathy: a feasibility study.
Trial report in The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exercise therapy for tendinopathy: a mixed-methods evidence synthesis exploring feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Dry Needling Versus Percutaneous Electrolysis in Achilles Tendinopathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Cureus · 2026Article
- Recent developments in Achilles tendon risk-analyzing rupture factors for enhanced injury prevention and clinical guidance: Current implications of regenerative medicine.Journal of orthopaedic translation · 2024Review
- Resistance Training Interventions for Lower Limb Tendinopathies: A Scoping Review of Resistance Training Reporting Content, Quality, and Scientific Implementation.Translational sports medicine · 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
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe effects of trigger point dry needling (TDN) on myofascial trigger points (MTP) in Achilles tendinopathy (AT) are unknown. We conducted a study to test the feasibility of a large randomized controlled trial (RCT) to compare the effects of TDN to MT and exercise in a patient population with AT.
methodsTwenty-two subjects were randomly assigned to a control (MT+Ex) or experimental group (TDN+MT+Ex) and completed eight treatment sessions over 4 weeks with follow up at 3 months. TDN was performed to MTPs in the gastrocnemius, soleus or tibialis posterior each session. The same MT and exercise program was conducted in both groups.
resultsTwo of three criteria for feasibility were met. The attrition rate at 4-week and 3-month follow-up was 18.1% and 68%, respectively. Significant differences (p < .05) reported for within group analysis for FAAM, NPRS, pain pressure threshold and strength in both groups at 4 weeks and 3 months. The GROC was significant for MT + Ex at 3 months. No between group differences were found. The MCID for the FAAM, GROC was surpassed in both groups at 4 weeks and 3 months and NPRS for the MT + Ex group at 4 weeks. DISCUSSION: A large RCT to investigate the effects of TDN on MTP in AT is not feasible without modifications due to low recruitment and high attrition rate. Modifications to study design should give consideration for closed or national health-care system for access to large patient populations and reduced financial burden to subjects.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03261504F.
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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.