Objective: To compare the effects of electrical dry needling with a non-invasive multi-component intervention in patients with chronic low back pain.
Design: A randomised single-blind clinical trial.
Setting: Outpatient Physiotherapy Clinic; home.
Participants: Sixty-four patients with chronic low back pain aged 30-65 years.
Interventions: Six-week electrical dry needling on myofascial trigger points, and a non-invasive multicomponent intervention (home exercise programme, stretching and ischemic compression).
Main measures: Pain (Visual Analogue Scale), disability (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and Oswestry Disability Index), kinesiophobia (Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia), quality of life and sleep (Short Form 36-item Health Survey and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), isometric endurance of trunk flexor muscles (McQuade test), lumbar mobility in flexion (finger-to-floor distance), and pressure pain threshold (algometer) were assessed at baseline, after 6 weeks, and after 2 months.
Results: ANOVA showed statistically significant differences in group-by-time interaction for most pain pressure thresholds of myofascial trigger points (P < 0.05), for disability (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire: F = 6.14, P = 0.016; and Oswestry Disability Index: F = 7.36, P = 0.009), for trunk anteflexion (F = 10.03, P = 0.002) and for habitual sleep efficacy (F = 6.65, P = 0.012), use of hypnotics (F = 4.77, P = 0.033) and total score of quality of sleep (F = 8.23, P = 0.006).
Conclusions: In comparison to a non-invasive multicomponent intervention, electrical dry needling has more positive effects on disability, pain intensity, kinesiophobia, and reducing patients' sensitivity to myofascial trigger points pressure, at post-treatment and at 2 months.
Clinical trial registration number: NCT04804228. Registered on May 28th, 2021. Available at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04804228.
Keywords: Electrical dry needling; chronic low back pain; myofascial trigger points; non-invasive multicomponent intervention; randomised clinical trial.