Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • ARTICLES
    • Current Issue
    • Ahead of Print
    • Archives
    • Abstracts In Press
    • Special Issue Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • INFO FOR
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Call For Papers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • SUBMIT
    • Manuscript
    • Peer Review
  • ABOUT
    • The JABFM
    • The Editing Fellowship
    • Editorial Board
    • Indexing
    • Editors' Blog
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • Other Publications
    • abfm

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
American Board of Family Medicine
  • Other Publications
    • abfm
American Board of Family Medicine

American Board of Family Medicine

Advanced Search

  • HOME
  • ARTICLES
    • Current Issue
    • Ahead of Print
    • Archives
    • Abstracts In Press
    • Special Issue Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • INFO FOR
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Call For Papers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • SUBMIT
    • Manuscript
    • Peer Review
  • ABOUT
    • The JABFM
    • The Editing Fellowship
    • Editorial Board
    • Indexing
    • Editors' Blog
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • JABFM on Bluesky
  • JABFM On Facebook
  • JABFM On Twitter
  • JABFM On YouTube
Review ArticleClinical Review

Dry Needling in the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain

Leonid Kalichman and Simon Vulfsons
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine September 2010, 23 (5) 640-646; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2010.05.090296
Leonid Kalichman
PT, PhD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Simon Vulfsons
MD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

References

  1. ↵
    Simons DG, Travell JG, Simons LS. Travell and Simons’ myofascial pain and dysfunction: the trigger point manual. Volume 1, 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins; 1999.
  2. ↵
    Fishbain DA, Goldberg M, Meagher BR, Steele R, Rosomoff H. Male and female chronic pain patients categorized by DSM-III psychiatric diagnostic criteria. Pain 1986; 26: 181–97.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  3. ↵
    Fricton JR, Kroening R, Haley D, Siegert R. Myofascial pain syndrome of the head and neck: a review of clinical characteristics of 164 patients. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 1985; 60: 615–23.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  4. ↵
    Skootsky SA, Jaeger B, Oye RK. Prevalence of myofascial pain in general internal medicine practice. West J Med 1989; 151: 157–60.
    OpenUrlPubMedWeb of Science
  5. ↵
    Gerwin RD. A study of 96 subjects examined both for fibromyalgia and myofascial pain [abstract]. J Musculoskelet Pain 1995; 3(Supl 1): 121.
    OpenUrl
  6. ↵
    Feinberg BI, Feinberg RA. Persistent pain after total knee arthroplasty: treatment with manual therapy and trigger point injections. J Musculoskelet Pain 1998; 6: 85–95.
    OpenUrl
  7. Ingber RS. Iliopsoas myofascial dysfunction: a treatable cause of “failed” low back syndrome. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1989; 70: 382–6.
    OpenUrlPubMedWeb of Science
  8. Tay A, Chua K, Chan K-F. Upper quarter myofascial pain syndrome in Singapore: Characteristics and treatment. J Musculoskelet Pain 2000; 8: 49–56.
    OpenUrl
  9. ↵
    Borg-Stein J, Simons DG. Focused review: myofascial pain. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2002; 83: S40–7, S48–9.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  10. ↵
    Cummings TM, White AR. Needling therapies in the management of myofascial trigger point pain: a systematic review. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2001; 82: 986–92.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  11. ↵
    Lewit K. The needle effect in the relief of myofascial pain. Pain 1979; 6: 83–90.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  12. ↵
    Ga H, Choi JH, Park CH, Yoon HJ. Acupuncture needling versus lidocaine injection of trigger points in myofascial pain syndrome in elderly patients–a randomised trial. Acupunct Med 2007; 25: 130–6.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  13. Barbagli P, Bollettin R, Ceccherelli F. [Acupuncture (dry needle) versus neural therapy (local anesthesia) in the treatment of benign back pain. Immediate and long-term results]. Minerva Med 2003; 94: 17–25.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  14. ↵
    Hong CZ. Lidocaine injection versus dry needling to myofascial trigger point. The importance of the local twitch response. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 1994; 73: 256–63.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  15. ↵
    Gunn CC. The Gunn approach to the treatment of chronic pain. 2nd Ed. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1997.
  16. ↵
    Gunn CC. Radiculopathic pain: diagnosis, treatment of segmental irritation or sensitization. J Musculoskelet Pain 1997; 5: 119–34.
    OpenUrl
  17. ↵
    Cannon WB, Rosenblueth A. The supersensitivity of denervated structures: a law of denervation. New York, NY: MacMillan; 1949.
  18. ↵
    Travell J, Rinzler S, Herman M. Pain and disability of the shoulder and arm: treatment by intramuscular infiltration with procaine hydrochloride. JAMA 1942; 120: 417–22.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  19. ↵
    Chen JT, Chung KC, Hou CR, Kuan TS, Chen SM, Hong CZ. Inhibitory effect of dry needling on the spontaneous electrical activity recorded from myofascial trigger spots of rabbit skeletal muscle. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2001; 80: 729–35.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  20. ↵
    Lu G-D, Needham J. Celestial lancets: a history and rationale of acupuncture and moxa. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 1980.
  21. ↵
    Hong CZ. Myofascial trigger points: pathophysiology and correlation with acupuncture points. Acupunct Med 2000; 18: 41–7.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  22. ↵
    Baldry PE. Acupuncture, trigger points and musculoskeletal pain. Edinburgh, UK: Churchill Livingstone; 2005.
  23. ↵
    Furlan AD, van Tulder MW, et al. Acupuncture and dry-needling for low back pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2005;(1):CD001351.
  24. ↵
    Tough EA, White AR, Cummings TM, Richards SH, Campbell JL. Acupuncture and dry needling in the management of myofascial trigger point pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Eur J Pain 2009; 13: 3–10.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  25. ↵
    Sim J, Wright C. Research in health care. Concepts, designs and methods. Cheltenham, UK: Stanley Thornes, Ltd.; 2000.
  26. ↵
    Gunn CC, Milbrandt WE, Little AS, Mason KE. Dry needling of muscle motor points for chronic low-back pain: a randomized clinical trial with long-term follow-up. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1980; 5: 279–91.
    OpenUrl
  27. ↵
    Baldry P. Superficial dry needling at myofascial trigger point sites. J Musculoskelet Pain 1995; 3: 117–26.
    OpenUrl
  28. ↵
    Edwards J, Knowles N. Superficial dry needling and active stretching in the treatment of myofascial pain–a randomised controlled trial. Acupunct Med 2003; 21: 80–6.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  29. ↵
    Macdonald AJ, Macrae KD, Master BR, Rubin AP. Superficial acupuncture in the relief of chronic low back pain. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 1983; 65: 44–6.
    OpenUrlPubMedWeb of Science
  30. ↵
    Naslund J, Naslund UB, Odenbring S, Lundeberg T. Sensory stimulation (acupuncture) for the treatment of idiopathic anterior knee pain. J Rehabil Med 2002; 34: 231–8.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  31. ↵
    Ceccherelli F, Rigoni MT, Gagliardi G, Ruzzante L. Comparison of superficial and deep acupuncture in the treatment of lumbar myofascial pain: a double-blind randomized controlled study. Clin J Pain 2002; 18: 149–53.
    OpenUrlPubMedWeb of Science
  32. ↵
    Itoh K, Katsumi Y, Kitakoji H. Trigger point acupuncture treatment of chronic low back pain in elderly patients–a blinded RCT. Acupunct Med 2004; 22: 170–7.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  33. ↵
    Chiang CY, Chang CT, Chu H, Yang L. Peripheral afferent pathway for acupuncture analgesia. Scientia Sinica 1973; 16: 210–7.
    OpenUrl
  34. ↵
    Kawakita K. Polymodal receptor hypothesis on the peripheral mechanisms of acupuncture and moxibustion. Am J Acupunct 1993; 21: 331–8.
    OpenUrl
  35. ↵
    Ga H, Choi JH, Park CH, Yoon HJ. Dry needling of trigger points with and without paraspinal needling in myofascial pain syndromes in elderly patients. J Altern Complement Med 2007; 13: 617–24.
    OpenUrlPubMed
  36. ↵
    Huguenin L, Brukner PD, McCrory P, Smith P, Wajswelner H, Bennell K. Effect of dry needling of gluteal muscles on straight leg raise: a randomised, placebo controlled, double blind trial. Br J Sports Med 2005; 39: 84–90.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  37. ↵
    Witt CM, Pach D, Brinkhaus B, et al. Safety of acupuncture: results of a prospective observational study with 229,230 patients and introduction of a medical information and consent form. Forsch Komplementmed 2009; 16: 91–7.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  38. ↵
    White A, Hayhoe S, Hart A, Ernst E. Adverse events following acupuncture: prospective survey of 32 000 consultations with doctors and physiotherapists. BMJ 2001; 323: 485–6.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  39. ↵
    KinetaCore. Physical Therapy Education. Available at http://www.gemtinfo.com. Accessed 15 July 2010.
  40. ↵
    Yun-Tao M. Dry needling course. Available at http://www.dryneedlingcourse.com. Accessed 15 July 2010.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine: 23 (5)
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
Vol. 23, Issue 5
September-October 2010
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Cover (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Back Matter (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Board of Family Medicine.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Dry Needling in the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Board of Family Medicine
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Board of Family Medicine web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
11 + 1 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Dry Needling in the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain
Leonid Kalichman, Simon Vulfsons
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Sep 2010, 23 (5) 640-646; DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2010.05.090296

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Dry Needling in the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain
Leonid Kalichman, Simon Vulfsons
The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Sep 2010, 23 (5) 640-646; DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2010.05.090296
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Dry Needling Methods
    • Effectiveness of Dry Needling in the Management of MTrPs
    • Deep Versus Superficial Needling
    • Needling With or Without Paraspinal Needling
    • Adverse Effects of Dry Needling
    • Training Information
    • Conclusions
    • Notes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Myofascial pain syndrome in patients with cancer: a narrative review
  • Masticator space abscess following intramuscular stimulation
  • The Most Frequently Read Articles of 2020
  • The Most Frequently Read Articles of 2019
  • Content Usage and the Most Frequently Read Articles of 2018
  • AIUM Practice Parameter for the Performance of Selected Ultrasound-Guided Procedures
  • Novel Use of Ultrasound Elastography to Quantify Muscle Tissue Changes After Dry Needling of Myofascial Trigger Points in Patients With Chronic Myofascial Pain
  • The neurophysiological effects of dry needling in patients with upper trapezius myofascial trigger points: study protocol of a controlled clinical trial
  • Re: Dry Needling in the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain
  • The Words We Use, the Procedures We Do, and How We Change (Medical Care Information for Family Physicians)
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Interpretating Normal Values and Reference Ranges for Laboratory Tests
  • Non-Surgical Management of Urinary Incontinence
  • Screening and Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes in Sickle Cell Disease
Show more Clinical Reviews

Similar Articles

Navigate

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues

Authors & Reviewers

  • Info For Authors
  • Info For Reviewers
  • Submit A Manuscript/Review

Other Services

  • Get Email Alerts
  • Classifieds
  • Reprints and Permissions

Other Resources

  • Forms
  • Contact Us
  • ABFM News

© 2025 American Board of Family Medicine

Powered by HighWire