OBJECTIVE:Dry needling therapy is widely used in various myofascial pain syndromes.The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the clinical effect of dry needling in the treatment of knee joint diseases.METHODS:PubMed,EBSCO,ScienceDirect,Web of Science,CINAHL,Cochrane Library,CNKI and other databases were searched for relevant literature.Randomized controlled trials with dry needling as the main treatment method and patients diagnosed with knee joint disease were selected.Two evaluators independently screened the articles,scored the methodological quality,and extracted the data.The main indicators were visual analog scale score,and the secondary indicators were the Western Ontario McMaster Universities(WOMAC)score,pressure pain threshold,knee mobility and Kujala score(knee function score scale).RESULTS:A total of 15 randomized controlled trials involving 698 patients were included in the Meta-analysis.The results showed that compared with non-dry needling,dry needling at myofascial trigger points had a significant advantage in visual analog scale score,the WOMAC pain score and WOMAC stiffness score[MD=-0.63,95%confidence interval(CI):-1.06 to-0.19,P=0.005;MD=-0.74,95%CI:-1.32 to-0.17,P=0.01;MD=-0.43,95%CI:-0.77 to-0.09,P=0.01).However,there was no significant advantage in WOMAC total score,WOMAC functional score,pressure pain threshold,knee mobility,and Kujala score.CONCLUSION:Dry needling can effectively treat knee pain and stiffness;however,the clinical advantages of dry needling in improving other knee joint dysfunction and its follow-up effect are not well documented.Therefore,in some older patients with chronic knee pain or joint stiffness,the use of dry needling can be carefully considered.

OBJECTIVE:Dry needling therapy is widely used in various myofascial pain syndromes.The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the clinical effect of dry needling in the treatment of knee joint diseases.METHODS:PubMed,EBSCO,ScienceDirect,Web of Science,CINAHL,Cochrane Library,CNKI and other databases were searched for relevant literature.Randomized controlled trials with dry needling as the main treatment method and patients diagnosed with knee joint disease were selected.Two evaluators independently screened the articles,scored the methodological quality,and extracted the data.The main indicators were visual analog scale score,and the secondary indicators were the Western Ontario McMaster Universities(WOMAC)score,pressure pain threshold,knee mobility and Kujala score(knee function score scale).RESULTS:A total of 15 randomized controlled trials involving 698 patients were included in the Meta-analysis.The results showed that compared with non-dry needling,dry needling at myofascial trigger points had a significant advantage in visual analog scale score,the WOMAC pain score and WOMAC stiffness score[MD=-0.63,95%confidence interval(CI):-1.06 to-0.19,P=0.005;MD=-0.74,95%CI:-1.32 to-0.17,P=0.01;MD=-0.43,95%CI:-0.77 to-0.09,P=0.01).However,there was no significant advantage in WOMAC total score,WOMAC functional score,pressure pain threshold,knee mobility,and Kujala score.CONCLUSION:Dry needling can effectively treat knee pain and stiffness;however,the clinical advantages of dry needling in improving other knee joint dysfunction and its follow-up effect are not well documented.Therefore,in some older patients with chronic knee pain or joint stiffness,the use of dry needling can be carefully considered.