Efficacy of dry needling versus traditional manual therapy in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome in the neck and upper back

Efficacy of dry needling versus traditional manual therapy in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome in the neck and upper back | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Efficacy of dry needling versus traditional manual therapy in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome in the neck and upper back Jaishree Tiwari, Vikas Tiwari This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9090853/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Introduction To treat myofascial pain syndrome in the neck and upper back, it is important to compare the effectiveness of dry needling with that of standard manual therapy, with an emphasis on pain management, functional improvement, and patient satisfaction. Methods One hundred patients, aged 18 to 65 years, who were diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) in the neck and upper back and had been in pain for three months or more, were included in this randomised controlled experiment. Individuals who are contraindicated for any therapy, have recent trauma, or have systemic disorders will not be accepted. Random assignments will be made to place participants in one of two groups: the intervention group, which will receive dry needling treatment, or the control group, which will receive standard manual therapy. Each group will consist of fifty patients. The course of therapy will last eight weeks, with two sessions each week. The Neck Impairment Index (NDI), which assesses functional impairment, the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain severity, and the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire will be used as assessment instruments. The change in pain intensity as determined by the VAS will be the main outcome measure; improvements in functional impairment as determined by the NDI and patient satisfaction levels will be the secondary outcomes. Results The VAS score of the manual treatment group decreased by 35%, whereas that of the dry needling group decreased by 50%. NDI scores increased by 25% in the manual treatment group and 40% in the dry needling group. Compared with 70% of patients in the manual treatment group, 85% of patients in the dry needling group expressed excellent satisfaction. Conclusion According to previous studies, dry needling is superior to conventional manual therapy for treating myofascial pain syndrome in the neck and upper back because it reduces pain and enhances functional results. To validate these results, other studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up times are advised. Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine Physical Medicine & Rehab Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) Dry needling Traditional manual therapy Neck pain Upper back pain Pain management Functional outcomes Patient satisfaction Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9090853","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":604223647,"identity":"3d9d6d7b-3274-4562-a382-224cb7f670ad","order_by":0,"name":"Jaishree Tiwari","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"AIPH University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jaishree","middleName":"","lastName":"Tiwari","suffix":""},{"id":604223648,"identity":"cd0cbe3f-4e6e-4292-8c73-f4b388dadff8","order_by":1,"name":"Vikas Tiwari","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"AIPH University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vikas","middleName":"","lastName":"Tiwari","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-11 06:45:57","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":true,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9090853/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9090853/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104575624,"identity":"f5f8946a-9444-4d35-9ad8-158eafb39188","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-13 13:51:05","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":794987,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"EFFICACYOFDRYNEEDLINGVERSUSTRADITIONALMANUALTHERAPYINTHETREATMENTOFMYOFASCIALPAINSYNDROMEINTHENECKANDUPPERBACK1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9090853/v1_covered_746bf6f9-43e1-485f-8dfe-ec82435d26f6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEfficacy of dry needling versus traditional manual therapy in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome in the neck and upper back\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Arogyam Institute of Medical Sciences","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), Dry needling, Traditional manual therapy, Neck pain, Upper back pain, Pain management, Functional outcomes, Patient satisfaction","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9090853/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9090853/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo treat myofascial pain syndrome in the neck and upper back, it is important to compare the effectiveness of dry needling with that of standard manual therapy, with an emphasis on pain management, functional improvement, and patient satisfaction.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMethods\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne hundred patients, aged 18 to 65 years, who were diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) in the neck and upper back and had been in pain for three months or more, were included in this randomised controlled experiment. Individuals who are contraindicated for any therapy, have recent trauma, or have systemic disorders will not be accepted. Random assignments will be made to place participants in one of two groups: the intervention group, which will receive dry needling treatment, or the control group, which will receive standard manual therapy. Each group will consist of fifty patients. The course of therapy will last eight weeks, with two sessions each week. The Neck Impairment Index (NDI), which assesses functional impairment, the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain severity, and the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire will be used as assessment instruments. The change in pain intensity as determined by the VAS will be the main outcome measure; improvements in functional impairment as determined by the NDI and patient satisfaction levels will be the secondary outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eResults\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe VAS score of the manual treatment group decreased by 35%, whereas that of the dry needling group decreased by 50%. NDI scores increased by 25% in the manual treatment group and 40% in the dry needling group. Compared with 70% of patients in the manual treatment group, 85% of patients in the dry needling group expressed excellent satisfaction.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to previous studies, dry needling is superior to conventional manual therapy for treating myofascial pain syndrome in the neck and upper back because it reduces pain and enhances functional results. 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