Evidence for Dry Needling in the Management of Myofascial Trigger Points Associated With Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: To evaluate the current evidence of the effectiveness of dry needling of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) associated with low back pain (LBP).

Data Sources: PubMed, Ovid, EBSCO, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were searched until January 2017.

Study Selection: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that used dry needling as the main treatment and included participants diagnosed with LBP with the presence of MTrPs were included.

Data Extraction: Two reviewers independently screened articles, scored methodologic quality, and extracted data. The primary outcomes were pain intensity and functional disability at postintervention and follow-up.

Data Synthesis: A total of 11 RCTs involving 802 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Results suggested that compared with other treatments, dry needling of MTrPs was more effective in alleviating the intensity of LBP (standardized mean difference [SMD], -1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.77 to -0.36; P=.003) and functional disability (SMD, -0.76; 95% CI, -1.46 to -0.06; P=.03); however, the significant effects of dry needling plus other treatments on pain intensity could be superior to dry needling alone for LBP at postintervention (SMD, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.55-1.11; P<.00001).

Conclusions: Moderate evidence showed that dry needling of MTrPs, especially if associated with other therapies, could be recommended to relieve the intensity of LBP at postintervention; however, the clinical superiority of dry needling in improving functional disability and its follow-up effects still remains unclear.