Objective: Myofascial trigger point is one of the most common causes of musculoskeletal pain and disorders. Myofascial trigger point in upper trapezius has been reported as a frequent symptom in patients with neck and thoracic pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of dry needling compared with ischemic pressure on active trigger point in upper trapezius muscle.

Materials & Methods: 32 women with active myofascial trigger point in upper trapezius muscle participated in this randomized clinical trial (RCT) study. The subjects were randomly assigned into two groups: dry needling (N=15) and ischemic pressure (N=17). The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess the pain intensity before and after treatment in both groups. Paired t-test was used to determine any significant difference in pain intensity after treatment sessions compared with pre-treatment score in control and experimental group. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was calculated to determine the significance of differences between the control and experimental groups in post-test scores, with pre-treatment scores used as covariates in the analysis.

Results: Statistical analysis (paired t-test) revealed significant decrease in pain intensity after treatment sessions in control and experimental group (P=0.00) compared with pre-treatment score. In the ANCOVA, controlling for pre-test scores, no significant difference was found between the two groups (P=0.8).

Conclusion: It seems that that both dry needling and ischemic pressure are effective in improvement in the pain intensity in subjects with myofascial trigger points. However, dry needling can be used by clinicians and therapist in physiotherapy clinics.