Table 1.
Characteristics of the sample of included studies.
| Study | Diagnosis | Group | Total (male/female) | Age (SD), y | Pain duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DN plus other therapies vs. other therapies alone | |||||
| Tough et al., 2010 [26] | Whiplash-associated disorders | G1: TrP-DN + standardized physical therapy | 20 (9/11) | 34.2 (10.8) | 6.8 (4.3) wk. |
| G2: sham DN + standardized physical therapy | 21 (8/13) | 36.9 (10.9) | 7.3 (4.7) wk. | ||
|
| |||||
| Sterling et al., 2015 [27] | Chronic whiplash-associated disorders | G1: TrP-DN + exercise therapy | 40 (16/24) | 41.5 (11.1) | 20.6 (18.0) mo. |
| G2: sham TrP-DN + exercise therapy | 40 (10/30) | 41.7 (12.3) | 15.9 (12.8) mo. | ||
|
| |||||
| Cerezo Tellez et al., 2016 [29] | Chronic mechanical neck pain | G1: TrP-DN + passive stretching | 64 | 48 (15.7) | >6 mo. |
| G2: passive stretching | 64 | 52 (16.6) | >6 mo. | ||
|
| |||||
| Cerezo-Tellez et al., 2016 [30] | Neck pain in office workers | G1: TrP-DN + passive stretching | 22 (5/17) | 40.1 (13.1) | NR |
| G2: passive stretching | 22 (3/19) | 47 (16.2) | NR | ||
|
| |||||
| Gallego-Sendarrubias et al., 2020 [28] | Chronic mechanical neck pain | G1: TrP-DN + manual therapy | 47 (13/34) | 34.1 (7.6) | >3 mo. |
| G2: sham TrP-DN + manual therapy | 53 (24/29) | 34.6 (8.9) | >3 mo. | ||
|
| |||||
| Stieven et al., 2020 [31] | Chronic neck pain | G1: TrP-DN + guideline based physical therapy | 58 (14/44) | 39.3 (9.9) | 36.1 (12.4) mo. |
| G2: guideline based physical therapy | 58 (18/40) | 36.9 (11.5) | 41.6 (14.1) mo. | ||
|
| |||||
| DN plus other therapies vs. DN alone | |||||
| León-Hernández et al., 2016 [24] | Chronic myofascial neck pain | G1: DN alone | 31 (7/24) | 23.32 (4.77) | 16.03 (17.23) mo. |
| G2: DN + PENS | 31 (9/22) | 26.81 (9.63) | 19.36 (19.23) mo. | ||
|
| |||||
| Valiente-Castrillo et al., 2020 [25] | Chronic myofascial neck pain | G1: TrP-DN | 20 (4/16) | 40.33 (11.94) | 43.39 (56.54) mo. |
| G2: TrP-DN + pain neuroscience education | 21 (2/19) | 40.35 (7.97) | 64.94 (62.93) mo. | ||
| G3: usual care (N/A) | 19 (3/16) | 42.35 (9.43) | 56.29 (67.74) mo. | ||
TrP, trigger point; DN, dry needling; SDN, superficial dry needling; PENS, percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation; G, group; Y, years; NR, not reported; mo., months; wk., weeks.