Comparative effects of low-level laser acupuncture and dry needling on clinical and functional outcomes in patients with chronic cervical myofascial pain syndrome: a randomized controlled trial

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Low-Level Laser Acupuncture with Dry Needling along with Routine Physical Therapy on clinical and functional outcomes in patients with Chronic Cervical Myofascial Pain Syndrome. An Assessor-blind Randomized Controlled trial was conducted at the Physical Therapy department of Rawal General & Dental Hospital, Pakistan. The study duration was June 2023 to November 2024. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was employed to produce a study sample of 100 individuals with Chronic Cervical Myofascial Pain Syndrome. The 100 eligible participants, with a mean age of 34 ± 7.21 years, were randomly allocated into two equal groups ( n = 50 per group). Group A received Low-Level Laser Acupuncture and Routine Physical Therapy, while Group B underwent Dry Needling and Routine Physical Therapy. The outcomes of the study were pain intensity, neck disability, cervical range of motion, and health-related quality of life measured by the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, Neck Disability Index, Goniometer, and SF-36 health survey questionnaire, respectively. The outcome measures were evaluated at three temporal points: the pre, mid, and post-treatment sessions. Each participant received a total of 18 treatment sessions. The IBM SPSS Statistics version 26.0 was used to analyze and interpret the results. The Mann–Whitney U test, Friedman test, and subsequent Wilcoxon signed-rank post hoc analyses with Bonferroni adjustment demonstrated statistically significant differences ( p < 0.05 in all cases), both intergroup and intragroup over time. The Low-Level Laser Acupuncture and Dry Needling both proved to be efficient adjunct therapies to routine physical therapy for Chronic Cervical Myofascial Pain Syndrome for different durations of improvement.