Nadia Ishtiaq, Huma Riaz, Maliha Tahir, Zeeshan Asghar, Aimen Ghulam Rasool, Waqas Haidar Sial.
Effects of Trigger Point Dry Needling in patients with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome; a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Healer J Physiotherap Rehab Jan ;3(5):505-17.

Background: Patellofemoral pain syndrome is recognized as a complex and widespread disorder of the knee that commonly affects women. Dry needling is an effective approach used for the rehabilitation of a large number of musculoskeletal dysfunctions. Objective: To find out the effects of trigger point dry needling on the quadriceps femoris muscle considering pain and functionality in patients suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 92 patients were recruited who were clinically diagnosed with the patellofemoral syndrome, aged between 20 to 30 years. Non-probability sampling technique was used to select participants in this study. After preliminary screening, the participants were randomly allocated to the control and experimental group by using the sealed envelope method. The control group was treated with conventional therapy only while the experimental group was treated with trigger point dry needling in the quadriceps femoris muscle along with conventional therapy also. The tools which were employed to measure the intensity of pain were Kujala anterior knee pain scale and numeric pain rating scale at rest, stair climbing and squatting positions before and after the 3rd session of the treatment plan. The data were analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences version 23. Mann Whitney U-test was employed for analyzing the difference between the groups. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for analyzing the difference between the follow-ups. Results: The mean age and standard deviation for the experimental group was 26.86 +- 3.44 while the mean and standard deviation for the control group was 26.89 +- 4.14 years. All the tools employed and variables of this study showed statistically significant improvement in the experimental group, that is Kujala anterior knee pain scale score (p<0.001), numeric pain rating scale score at rest (p<0.001), at stairs (p<0.001) and at squatting (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results of current randomized trial concluded that the trigger point dry needling is an effective treatment approach in reducing pain and improving functioning in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome when compared with conventional therapy.

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