Abstract
A myofascial trigger point (MTrP) is a hyperirritable area of a skeletal muscle, of
nodular appearance on palpation and located in a taut band. One of the techniques
for the treatment of MTrP is dry needling (DN). The aim of the present work was to
determine whether treatment with DN is effective in terms of pain relief and improvement
of muscle weakness. For this purpose, differences in the Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
and the Brzycki Test were observed before and after treatment of an active MTrP of
the rectus femoris. In total, 5 patients received the treatment, of which 80% showed
an improvement in pain and an increase in submaximal strength. Although it is not
possible to establish a causal relationship, the results appear consistent with our
hypothesis that DN is able to generally improve the symptoms of pain and weakness
that appeared in patients.
Keywords
myofascial trigger point - dry needling - femoral rectus
