title: Effectiveness of trigger point dry needling for multiple body regions: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Trigger point dry needling (TDN) is commonly used to treat musculoskeletal pain related to myofascial trigger points (MTrPs). To date, no systematic review of high-quality randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating TDN to multiple body regions exists.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this review is to determine the effectiveness of TDN based on high-quality RCTs for all body regions.
  
  
  METHODS
  To ensure thorough reporting, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed as the methodological basis for this systematic review. PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), Cinahl, Cochrane and reference lists were searched for the years 2000-2014 and the terms 'TDN', 'dry needling NOT trigger point', 'functional dry needling' and 'intramuscular manual therapy'.
  
  
  METHODS
  RCTs with PEDro scores 6-10 investigating TDN.
  
  
  METHODS
  duplicates, non-human participants, non-English language, exclusive focus on acupuncture or medicinal injections. Three investigators searched databases, applied criteria, read and assigned PEDro scores to every RCT. Nineteen studies met the criteria. As compared to either baseline or control groups, significant differences were found for pain (14 studies), range of motion (ROM) (five studies) and at least one item on function and quality of life measures (six studies).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review was limited by inclusion criteria, timeframe, language and databases searched.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of high-quality studies included in this review show measured benefit from TDN for MTrPs in multiple body areas, suggesting broad applicability of TDN treatment for multiple muscle groups. Further high-quality research is warranted to standardise TDN methods to determine clinical applicability.
authors.affiliation: University of Puget Sound, Physical Therapy, Tacoma, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boyles
authors.affiliation: University of Puget Sound, Physical Therapy, Tacoma, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.affiliation: University of Puget Sound, Physical Therapy, Tacoma, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ramsey
authors.affiliation: University of Puget Sound, Physical Therapy, Tacoma, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Burrows
keywords: Myofascial pain syndrome; Systematic review; Trigger point dry needling