Background/Purpose:

The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of dry needling therapy combined with exercise treatment (dry needling+exercise) with exercise treatment alone for alleviating the dizziness caused by cervical myofascial pain syndrome.

Methods: This is a randomized clinical study that included 61 women who complained of cervical pain and dizziness for at least three months, and who had myofascial trigger points on the clavicular side of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and/or trapezius muscle. The patients was randomized into a dry needling+exercise group (n=31) and an exercise-only group (n=30). Both groups were treated for a duration of four weeks. The patients were evaluated before treatment, at the end of one month of treatment, and at the end of four months of treatment. Myofascial pain syndrome was evaluated by cervical pain (measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS)), number of trigger points, manual palpation pain (VAS), algometric measurement, and skin rolling test values. Dizziness was evaluated by the number of dizzy attacks per week, the severity of the dizziness, fall index, and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI)

Results:

The mean age of participants in this study was 38.4±8.3 years. The severity of dizziness, severity of cervical pain, number of trigger points, severity of manual palpation pain, fall index, and DHI decreased, while algometric measurements and skin rolling test values increased in both groups after treatment. These results were statistically significant in both groups (p<0.05). The dry needling+exercise treatment was superior to the exercise treatment alone in decreasing the severity of cervical pain, number of trigger points, number of dizzy attacks per week, and severity of dizziness at the end of the the first and fourth months (p<0.05). DHI points and manual palpation trigger point pain had decreased more in the dry needling +exercise group at the end of the first month (p<0.05), but by the end of the fourth month there was no statistical difference between the two groups. The two groups saw similar increases in algometric measurements at the end of the first month (p>0.05), but dry needling+exercise treatment increased algometric measurements better than exercise treatment alone by the end of the fourth month (p<0.05).  The fall index was statistically similar in both groups at the end of the first and fourth months (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Both dry needling+exercise therapy and exercise therapy alone were effective in treating cervical pain and dizziness caused by cervical myofascial pain syndrome. However, dry needling+exercise treatment was superior to exercise treatment alone in most of parameters.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/effectiveness-of-dry-needling-and-exercise-in-dizziness-caused-by-cervical-myofascial-pain-syndrome/