Analysis of dry needling combined with an exercise program in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: A randomized clinical trial

Background: Therapeutic exercise is recommended for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA), although it could be complemented with other treatments such as dry needling (DN). The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the resulting data on pain, functionality, strength and range of motion i...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Agost González, Aída, Escobio Prieto, Isabel, Barrios-Quinta, Cristo Jesús, Cardero-Durán, María de los Ángeles, Espejo-Antúnez, Luis, Albornoz Cabello, Manuel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/165286
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/165286
https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13237157
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Knee osteoarthritis
dry needling
popliteus muscle
therapeutic exercise
pain
functionality
Descripción
Sumario:Background: Therapeutic exercise is recommended for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA), although it could be complemented with other treatments such as dry needling (DN). The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the resulting data on pain, functionality, strength and range of motion in subjects with knee osteoarthritis after being treated with a specific therapeutic physical exercise program alone or in combination with the DN technique in the popliteus muscle. Methods: A total of 33 participants were randomly assigned to two groups: the dry needling plus therapeutic physical exercise group (n = 15) and the therapeutic physical exercise alone group (n = 18). Both groups received the same exercise protocol, and the dry-needling group conducted three sessions of this technique over 3 weeks. Results: Variables such as pain, functionality, neuropathic pain, stiffness, strength, range of motion, pain catastrophizing and kinesiophobia were evaluated before and after the intervention, as well as at a follow-up 3 months after the intervention. Significant differences were observed between the two groups in pain intensity, stiffness, functionality, pain catastrophizing and kinesiophobia (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The combination of dry needling targeting the popliteus muscle and therapeutic physical exercise showed better results in terms of pain, functionality and strength compared to therapeutic physical exercise alone, especially after the intervention.