Effect of Dry Needling Injection and Kinesiotaping on Pain and Quality of Life in Patients with Mechanical Neck Pain

Abstract

Background: Dry needling (DN) is a commonly used technique by clinicians for the treatment of mechanical neck pain (MNP) by targeting trigger points and nontrigger point structures. It is a skilled intervention that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying trigger points, muscular and connective tissues without the use of injectate. Another popular treatment technique used in the management of musculoskeletal pathologies is kinesiotaping (KT). Although its popular, there is minimal scientific evidence supporting KT for neck pain. Although there are a few studies regarding KT for neck pain in literature, there is a lack of randomized, controlled studies evaluating KT for neck pain. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of KT on posterior cervical spine and DN into a posterior paracervical muscle of patients with MNP. Study Design: Randomized clinical study. Setting: Physical medicine and rehabilitation center. Methods: Seventy-two patients (17 men, 55 women) were randomly assigned to DN or KT treatment groups. Numeric Rating Scale (NPS-11), Neck Disability Index (NDI), range of motion (ROM), Short Form36 Quality of Life Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were assessed before the intervention and one month postintervention. Results: Before treatment, there was no difference between groups in NPS-11, NDI, and BDI scores; however, ROM of the DN group was greater than ROM of the KT group (P < 0.05). After treatment, significant improvement was observed in all variables for both of the groups, except ROM in the DN group (P < 0.05). The KT group showed greater ROM compared with the DN group (P < 0.05). The preand posttreatment results showed that the KT group was significantly superior for the differences on ROM and NDI (P < 0.05); however, each group showed better results after treatment (P < 0.05). Limitations: First, we did not include a control or placebo group. Second, patients were followed up for only 4 weeks. Third, we used a sample of convenience from one clinic, which may not be representative of the entire population of individuals with MNP. Conclusions: In this study, both methods were found to be effective on pain, mood, and quality of life, and KT was found to be superior to DN in MNP in terms of increasing ROM and decreasing disability