Summary:
Introduction: nonspecific neck pain is an important clinical problem and a public health issue. Trigger points dry needling (DN) is a treatment technique for myofascial pain syndrome that is gaining prominence in current physical therapy research. However, in the context of nonspecific neck pain these studies remain limited.
This study aims to examine DN effects on pain in patients of all ages with nonspecific neck pain in order to update the knowledge in this context and to validate the use of this technique based on evidence-based practice.
Method: a quantitative review was conducted on databases such as PubMed, PEDro, Embase, Cochrane. A number of randomized controlled trials were based on the following selection criteria: the upper trapezius muscle, they had to compare the DN to manual and physical therapy or a control group. The outcomes held were: Pressure Pain Threshold, Visual analogue scale, Numeric Rating Scale Neck pain Intensity.
Results: six articles have been selected from a total of 46 articles. DN effects in this case study are mixed.
Discussion:the level of evidence is generally low to moderate to support effectiveness in this context. Future research with less bias and fewer limitations are required.
Conclusions: the scientific evidences are not sufficient to support the practice of DN in the context of our study. However, this method may facilitate pain reduction to establish multimodal, individualized and patient-friendly management.