Dry needling and muscle mechanical properties in myofascial trigger points: a systematic review and meta-analysis - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #dry needling
- #muscle stiffness
- #myofascial trigger points
- Dry needling reduces short-term stiffness in myofascial trigger points (SMD -0.37), with no immediate or mid-term effects.
- Greater benefits in healthy participants (SMD -0.33) compared to other groups.
- Shear-wave elastography and myotonometry show comparable results, though elastography has higher heterogeneity.
- The certainty of evidence is very low to low, indicating need for more standardized, long-term trials.
- Future research should link objective stiffness changes to clinical palpation and multimodal decision-making.