Popis: |
Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the effects of deep versus superficial dry needling or acupuncture on pain and disability for spine-related painful conditions. A secondary purpose was to account for the differences of needling location in relation to the painful area. Methods: This PROSPERO (#CRD42018106237) registered review found 691 titles through a multi-database search. Following a comprehensive search, 12 manuscripts were included in the systematic review and 10 in the meta-analysis. Standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated for pain and disability. Results: The included studies demonstrated an unclear to high risk of bias recommending a cautious interpretation of the results. A consistent effect supporting deep needling over superficial with an SMD of 0.585 [0.335, 0.835], p |