Effectiveness of Trigger Point Dry Needling for Plantar Heel Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Figures

Figure.

Study participant flow diagram.

Table 1.

Details of the Trigger Point Dry Needling Intervention Implemented in the Trial Consistent With STRICTA Recommendations^{^a}

↵^a STRICTA=STandards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture, MTrP=myofascial trigger point.
^b Seirin Corp, 13-7 Yokosuna-Nishicho, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka 424-0036, Japan.
^c Suzhou Medical Appliance Factory, 14 West Qi Lin Lance, Suzhou, China.

Table 2.

Baseline Characteristics of Participants for Intervention Groups^{^a}

↵^a Values are mean (SD) unless stated otherwise.
^b A comorbidity was defined as any medical condition reported by a participant for which he or she was taking medication.
^c VAS=visual analog scale (higher values indicate greater levels of heel pain when getting out of bed in the morning).
^d FHSQ=Foot Health Status Questionnaire (0=“worst foot health,” 100=“best foot health”).
^e SF-36=36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (0=“worst quality of life,” 100=“best quality of life”).
^f DASS-21= 21-item short-form Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (higher scores indicate more symptoms).
^g PAR=Physical Activity Recall Questionnaire (values correspond to total weekly energy expenditure in kcal/kg/wk).

Table 3.

Mean Scores and Mean Difference Between Groups for Primary Outcome Measures^{^a}

↵^a Values are mean (SD) unless stated otherwise. 95% CI=95% confidence interval. Primary end-point results, nominated prior to the commencement of the trial, are highlighted in bold type. *Statistically significant at P<.05.
^b VAS=visual analog scale (higher values indicate greater levels of heel pain when getting out of bed in the morning).
^c FHSQ=Foot Health Status Questionnaire (0=“worst foot health,” 100=“best foot health”).

Table 4.

Mean Scores and Mean Difference Between Groups for Secondary Outcome Measures at 6 and 12 Weeks^{^a}

↵^a Data are expressed as mean (SD) unless stated otherwise. *Statistically significant at P<.05.
^b FHSQ=Foot Health Status Questionnaire (0=“worst foot health,” 100= “best foot health”).
^c SF-36=36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (0=“worst quality of life,” 100=“best quality of life”).
^d DASS-21=21-item short-form Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (higher scores indicate more symptoms).

Table 5.

Localization and Frequency of Myofascial Trigger Points Dry Needled in the Real and Sham Dry Needling Groups^{^a}

↵^a Values represent the number of myofascial trigger points needled per muscle over the course of the study.

Files in this Data Supplement:

eTables (PDF) (23 KB) - This PDF contains the following eTables:
- eTable 1. Participant-Reported Use of Cointerventions and Pain-Relieving Medication During the Trial
- eTable 2. Assessments of Treatment Expectancy and Rationale Credibility Recorded After the First Treatment