Blinded Randomized Controlled Study to Evaluate the Influence of Positive Verbal Suggestions on the Perception of Pain During the use of Myofascial Trigger Point Dry Needling Technique

Abstract

Background: Positive verbal suggestion is identified as a therapeutic element that is used to influence outcomes by triggering placebo effects. Dry needling (DN) is a mildly invasive technique used to treat pains associated with Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs). Even though previous studies have evaluated the influence of verbal suggestions on the outcomes of DN over upper trapezius, this kind of study is not available in Sri Lanka. Objectives: This study evaluated the influence of positive verbal suggestions on the pain perception during the MTrP-DN technique and also the influence of age and gender on the differences in pain perception. Methods: Sixty patients with non-specific neck pain were randomly assigned to either control or interventional groups. For the control group, only DN was performed. For the intervention group, positive verbal suggestion; “You will be given an effective treatment to relieve your pain in the neck. This treatment is soothing and relaxing. You will feel no pain during the intervention” was introduced three times prior to the DN. The level of pain perception was evaluated immediately after the treatment by using numeric rating scale (NRS). Results: A significant improvement in mean values of NRS pain scores (p<0 0.05) was obtained with positive verbal suggestions regardless of gender and age category. Conclusion: Positive verbal suggestion appears to be effective in improving pain perception during MTrP-DN in patients with non-specific neck pain.

Keywords

• positive verbal suggestion
• dry needling
• pain perception
• expectations
• myofacial trigger points