Trial reportBMC musculoskeletal disorders2023
Dry needling on latent and active myofascial trigger points versus oral diclofenac in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Periosteal Electrical Dry Needling Efficacy in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2025Pooled it
- Durable Effects of Acupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Current pain and headache reports · 2024Pooled 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
- Effects of dry needling combined with exercise on knee osteoarthritis at 6 month follow up a randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Myofascial Trigger Point-Augmented Acupuncture vs Conventional Acupuncture for Early- to Mid-Stage Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial [Letter].Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Myofascial Pain Syndrome: An Update on Clinical Characteristics, Etiopathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatment.Muscle & nerve · 2025Review
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: Focused Vibrations Plus Kinesiotaping with Insights into Radiological Influences-An Observational Study.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2024Article
- Analysis of Dry Needling Combined with an Exercise Program in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- [Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2024Article
- Minimal clinically important change of knee flexion in people with knee osteoarthritis after non-surgical interventions using a meta-analytical approach.Systematic reviews · 2024Review
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 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLatent and active myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in knee-associated muscles may play a key role in pain management among patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dry needling treatment on pain intensity, disability, and range of motion (ROM) in patients with KOA.
methodsThis randomized, single-blinded, clinical trial was carried out for 6 weeks of treatment and 6-month follow-up. A total of 98 patients met the entry criteria and were randomly assigned to the dry needling latent and active myofascial trigger point (MTrPs) with the stretching group or the oral diclofenacwith the stretching group. Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and ROM were statistically analyzed before and after treatment and at the 6-month follow-up.
resultsA total of 42 patients in the dry needling group (DNG) and 35 patients in the diclofenac group (DG), respectively, completed the study, and there was no significant difference in the general data between the two groups. After treatments, both the groups showed a good effect in knee pain, function, and ROM, However, the DNG showed a significantly better result than the DG. Especially in the results of the 6-month follow-up, the DNG showed much better results than the DG.
conclusionsDry needling on latent and active MTrPs combined with stretching and oral diclofenac combined with stretching can effectively relieve pain, improve function, and restore knee ROM affected by KOA. However, the effects of dry needling and stretching are better and longer lasting than those of oral diclofenac and stretching for at least 6 months.
trial registrationRegistered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( www.chictr.org.cn ) in 17/11/2017 with the following code: ChiCTR-INR-17013432.
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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.