The effect of dry needling compared to lumbar spine mobilization on pain, functional disability, quadratus lumborum and lumbar multifidus function, lumbar range of motion and pain pressure threshold in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a socioeconomic burden worldwide and a major contributor to health-care costs. Mobilization and dry needling (DN) are well-known treatments for LBP. Just one study has compared these two treatments with each other which has some limitations, therefore the purpose of this study is to compare them to each other. Methods and study design: The study is a two-arm randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, controlled trial comparing DN to lumbar spine mobilization in individuals (n=56; 18–45 years of age) with chronic non-specific LBP (CNLBP). The experimental group will receive DN plus sham mobilization and the control group will receive Maitland’s anterior-posterior mobilization plus sham DN. Both groups will receive exercise and low-power laser. The primary outcomes are pain and functional disability, and the secondary outcomes are lumbar multifidus and quadratus lumborum function, lumbar range of motion, pain pressure threshold, DN side effects, and patient adherence to treatment. Primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline and 3 to 7 days after the final treatment session. Recruitment will begin immediately after acceptance of the protocol and it will take 5 to 6 months to complete the study. Discussion: In this study, we intend to solve the methodological problems of the previous study in this field. The results of this study allow the therapist to choose an intervention that has more therapeutic effects in combination with routine physiotherapy in the treatment of patients with CNLBP. Trial registration: 1) ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT05214456. 2) IRCT.ir registration number: IRCT20210706051802N1.