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Short-term improvement following dry needle stimulation of tender points in fibromyalgia

Rheumatology International volume 34, pages 861–866 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term efficacy of dry needling therapy in patients severely affected by fibromyalgia. One hundred and twenty fibromyalgia patients were randomly divided into two groups. The control group, 56 women and 4 men, and the dry needling group, 54 women and 6 men, who apart from continuing their medical treatment, also underwent weekly 1-h session of dry needling for 6 weeks. At the beginning of the program, there were significant differences in the age (mean 56.26 years in the dry needling group versus 50.82 years in controls, p = 0.01) and McGill Pain Questionnaire [MPQ] (mean 39.07 in dry needling group versus 42.44 in controls, p = 0.03). At the end of treatment, the experimental group showed significant differences in most tests, including Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of pain (p = 0.002), VAS of fatigue (p = 0.02), pain of Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 (SF-36) (p = 0.0007), myalgic score (p = 0.0005), pressure pain threshold (p = 0.002), and global subjective improvement (p = 0.00001). Six weeks after the end of the treatment, the dry needling group still showed significant differences in most tests, including VAS of pain (p = 0.01), VAS of fatigue (p = 0.02), pain of SF-36 (p = 0.01), myalgic score (p = 0.00001), pressure pain threshold (p = 0.0004), and global subjective improvement (p = 0.00001). In conclusion, patients severely affected by fibromyalgia can obtain short-term improvements following weekly dry needling for 6 weeks.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rheumatology Service at the Specialist Clinic of Cantabria, Santander, Spain

    Benigno Casanueva

  2. Specialist Clinic of Cantabria, Santander, Spain

    Paula Rivas

  3. Rodero Center, Santander, Spain

    Baltasar Rodero

  4. Neurophysiology Service, San Juan de Dios Hospital, Santander, Spain

    Covadonga Quintial

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Computational Biology, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, IFIMAV, Santander, Spain

    Javier Llorca

  6. Rheumatology Service, Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, IFIMAV, Avenida Valdecilla 25, 39008, Santander, Cantabria, Spain

    Miguel A. González-Gay

Authors
  1. Benigno Casanueva
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  2. Paula Rivas
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  3. Baltasar Rodero
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  4. Covadonga Quintial
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  5. Javier Llorca
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  6. Miguel A. González-Gay
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Correspondence to Miguel A. González-Gay.

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Casanueva, B., Rivas, P., Rodero, B. et al. Short-term improvement following dry needle stimulation of tender points in fibromyalgia. Rheumatol Int 34, 861–866 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-013-2759-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-013-2759-3

Keywords

  • Fibromyalgia
  • Dry needling therapy
  • Chronic pain
  • Clinical assessment