Randomized Trial on Comparison of the Efficacy of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy and Dry Needling in Myofascial Trigger Points.

Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2019 Mar 01;:

Authors: Luan S, Zhu ZM, Ruan JL, Lin CN, Ke SJ, Xin WJ, Liu CC, Wu SL, Ma C

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) and dry needling (DN) in the treatment of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in the upper trapezius muscle.
DESIGN: A total of 65 patients with MTrPs were randomly divided into ESWT group (n=32) and DN group (n=33). Patients received 3 weeks of treatment at one-week intervals in both groups Visual analogue scale (VAS), pressure pain threshold (PPT), Neck Disability Index (NDI) and shear modulus were evaluated pre-treatment, immediately post the first therapy, 1-month and 3-month after the completion of the third therapy.
RESULTS: Significant improvements of VAS, PPT, NDI scores were observed at all time points post-treatment (p<0.01) in both treatment groups. The shear modulus of MTrPs was reduced in both DN group (p<0.05) and ESWT group (p<0.01) immediately after the first treatment. Significant reductions in shear modulus were maintained up to 3-month post-treatment in both groups (p<0.01). There were no significant differences between the radial ESWT group and DN group.
CONCLUSIONS: The ESWT is as effective as DN for relieving pain, improving function and reducing shear modulus for patients with MTrPs following a series of three treatments.

PMID: 30829664 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]