1. Ultrasound-Guided Miniscalpel-Needle Release versus Dry Needling for Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
- Author
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Yongjun Zheng, Dongping Shi, Xiaotong Wu, Minghong Gu, Zisheng Ai, Kun Tang, Le Ye, and Xiangrui Wang
- Subjects
NECK pain treatment ,QUALITY of life ,ANALYSIS of covariance ,CHI-squared test ,CLINICAL trials ,FISHER exact test ,HEALTH status indicators ,HEALTH surveys ,HYPODERMIC needles ,MYOFASCIAL pain syndromes ,NONPARAMETRIC statistics ,RESEARCH funding ,STATISTICAL sampling ,T-test (Statistics) ,ULTRASONIC imaging ,STATISTICAL power analysis ,PAIN measurement ,RANDOMIZED controlled trials ,VISUAL analog scale ,TREATMENT effectiveness ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,MANN Whitney U Test ,EVALUATION - Abstract
Objective. To compare ultrasound-guided miniscalpel-needle (UG-MSN) release versus ultrasound-guided dry needling (UG-DN) for chronic neck pain. Methods. A total of 169 patients with chronic neck pain were randomized to receive either UG-MSN release or UG-DN. Before treatment and at 3 and 6 months posttreatment, pain was measured using a 10-point visual analogue scale (VAS). Neck function was examined using the neck disability index. Health-related quality of life was examined using the physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS) of the SF-36 health status scale. Results. Patients in the UG-MSN release had greater improvement on the VAS (by 2 points at 3 months and 0.9 points at 6 months) versus in the UG-DN arm; (both P < 0.0001). Patients receiving UG-MSN release also showed significantly lower scores on the adjusted neck disability index, as well as significantly lower PCS. No severe complications were observed. Conclusion. UG-MSN release was superior to UG-DN in reducing pain intensity and neck disability in patients with chronic neck pain and was not associated with severe complications. The procedural aspects in the two arms were identical; however, we did not verify the blinding success. As such, the results need to be interpreted with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
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