Comparison of efficacy of dry needling and combined physiotherapy (hot pack+tens+ultrasound) in patients with myofascial pain syndrome

In our study, we aim to compare the effectiveness of dry needling and combined physical therapy on patients with myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). We include in our study 88 patients ranging from 18 to 50 years old (76 women,12 men) who have trigger points in upper and middle trapezius muscles, and who were diagnosed with MPS. Being randomized, the patients were separeted into 4 groups of 22: dry needling group, physical therapy group, dry needling+physical therapy group, control (sham) needling group. Patients on these groups were taken into 10 treatment sessions in total. To evaluate patients: activity and rest visual analog scale (VAS) values, algometer, neck pain disability index, palpable muscle spasm scoring, cervical range of motion, SF-36 scale of life quality are used. The effectiveness of treatment is evaluated before and at the end of the treatment and 2 months after the treatment for VAS values; while the values of the other parameters are evaluated before and at the end of the treatment. Our study shows that the application of dry needling and combined physical therapy are effective on the treatment of MPS. As a result of the study, we also find out that dry needling is more effective than physical therapy; moreover, the combination of these two treatment methods is not superior to dry needling on its own. We think that dry needling is a preferable method for the treatment of MPS because the cost of the treatment is low and duration of the application is short.