Table 2.
Pre- to posttreatment changes (mean and standard deviation) and estimated group differences (from analysis of covariance) of outcome parameters. Bold values indicate significant P values.
| Control group | Needle stimulus pad | Estimated difference (95% CL) | P | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Post | |||||
| Pain (Numeric Rating Scale) | ||||||
| Neck pain | 4.4 (1.8) | 4.5 (2.2) | 4.9 (2.0) | 3.4 (2.7) | −1.6 (−2.8 to − 0.3) | 0.021 |
| Lower back pain | 4.9 (1.9) | 5.4 (1.9) | 5.0 (2.3) | 3.2 (2.2) | −2.3 (−3.2 to − 1.3) | <0.001 |
| Function (Neck Pain Questionnaire NPQ or Oswestry Disease Index ODI) | ||||||
| Neck pain | 33.2 (11.1) | 32.5 (9.2) | 36.3 (13.5) | 26.5 (15.7) | −7.4 (−13.7 to − 1.1) | 0.028 |
| Lower back pain | 25.0 (13.9) | 19.9 (10.9) | 22.8 (14.5) | 18.8 (14.6) | 0.4 (−4.8 to 5.6) | 0.878 |
| Log pressure pain threshold (PPT) area of maximum pain | ||||||
| Neck pain | 2.303 (0.168) | 2.311 (0.182) | 2.193 (0.221) | 2.314 (0.264) | 0.106 (0.013 to 0.198) | 0.032 |
| Lower back pain | 2.548 (0.186) | 2.534 (0.170) | 2.552 (0.150) | 2.619 (0.110) | 0.082 (0.021 to 0.144) | 0.013 |
| Log pressure pain threshold (PPT) 10 cm close to maximum pain | ||||||
| Neck pain | 2.358 (0.173) | 2.319 (0.142) | 2.331 (0.202) | 2.380 (0.264) | 0.085 (−0.002 to 0.171) | 0.064 |
| Lower back pain | 2.588 (0.178) | 2.534 (0.170) | 2.570 (0.138) | 2.596 (0.109) | 0.073 (0.006 to 0.139) | 0.038 |
| Log mechanical detection threshold (MDT) area of maximum pain | ||||||
| Neck pain | 0.118 (0.316) | 0.174 (0.369) | 0.129 (0.480) | 0.132 (0.347) | −0.043 (−0.282 to 0.196) | 0.726 |
| Lower back pain | 0.477 (0.598) | 0.342 (0.526) | 0.423 (0.375) | 0.486 (0.413) | 0.174 (−0.062 to 0.409) | 0.156 |
| Log mechanical detection threshold (MDT) 10 cm close to maximum pain | ||||||
| Neck pain | −0.067 (0.410) | −0.080 (0.427) | 0.128 (0.488) | −0.040 (0.422) | −0.049 (−0.306 to 0.208) | 0.712 |
| Lower back pain | 0.563 (0.491) | 0.376 (0.499) | 0.317 (0.435) | 0.359 (0.449) | 0.145 (−0.085 to 0.376) | 0.224 |
| Vibration detection threshold (VDT) area of maximum pain | ||||||
| Neck pain | 6.7 (1.4) | 6.7 (0.9) | 6.3 (1.3) | 6.1 (1.5) | −0.4 (−1.1 to 0.3) | 0.247 |
| Lower back pain | 3.8 (2.0) | 4.1 (1.7) | 4.2 (1.7) | 4.2 (1.9) | −0.2 (−1.0 to 0.5) | 0.514 |
| Vibration detection threshold (VDT) 10 cm close to maximum pain | ||||||
| Neck pain | 6.5 (1.0) | 6.5 (1.1) | 6.0 (1.4) | 5.7 (1.5) | −0.5 (−1.1 to 0.2) | 0.165 |
| Lower back pain | 5.1 (1.1) | 5.0 (1.3) | 5.0 (1.6) | 5.0 (1.2) | 0.1 (−0.5 to 0.7) | 0.774 |