Dry needling for trigger points
Dry needling is an effective intervention for reducing neck pain and sensitivity to touch of the neck muscles.
About 70% of the population will experience an episode of neck pain at some point in their life. Up to 50% of those with neck pain will develop chronic symptoms.
Muscle trigger points (MTPs) are described as a hypersensitive spots in the muscle belly. Active MTPs are hypersensitive spots that are aggravated with movement or positions. Latent MTPs are hypersensitive spots that are aggravated only with pressure. Trigger points can cause pain, limit movement and result in disability.
This article discusses the effects of dry needling if placed into an active or latent trigger point, or into a non-trigger point portion of the muscle. Participants were placed into three groups: (1) Active MTP, (2) Latent MTP and (3) No MTP. The needles were inserted into the active trigger point (group 1), latent trigger point (group 2) or into a non-trigger point muscle (group 3).
The researchers measured neck pain intensity, sensitivity to touch and levels of disability. Measurements were taken 1, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours, 1 week and 1 month after treatment.
The researchers found that all groups demonstrated significant improvements in neck pain, sensitivity to touch and disability regardless of their group. However, needles that were inserted into the trigger points experienced symptom relief for a greater time period.
Conclusion: dry needling is a safe and effective treatment for managing neck pain and disability.