A single group, pretest-posttest clinical trial for the effects of dry needling on wrist flexors spasticity after stroke

Abstract

This study suggests that DN reduced wrist flexors spasticity and alpha motor neuron excitability in patients with stroke, and improvements persisted for one hour after DN.

Effects of dry needling on post-stroke brain activity and muscle spasticity of the upper limb: a case report

“…As expected, the changes in brain activity coincided with clinical improvements, as demonstrated previously. 2,3 Normalized spasticity of wrist flexors and simultaneous increases in the affected motor cortex may explain the benefits observed in this patient with spasticity after stroke.…”

“…DN was performed for 1 min on the dorsum of the hand, at the site of the proximal angle formed between the first and second metacarpal bones, using stainless steel needles (0.25 mm × 25 mm; SMC, Seoul, Korea). 2,3…”

“…The evidence suggests that DN may have central effects. 2,3 To our knowledge, there have been no functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reports on the effects of DN on brain activity of stroke patients with spasticity. Herein, we introduce a patient with stroke who was suffering from upper limb spasticity and present the changes in brain activity on fMRI after DN.…”

A Double-blind Randomized Controlled Trial for the Effects of Dry Needling on Upper Limb Dysfunction in Patients with Stroke

“…Patients were instructed to move 150 standard blocks from one compartment into the other compartment one block at a time using their affected hand. The assessor encouraged patients to perform the test as quickly as possible (Fakhari et al, 2017).…”

Needling: is there a point?

“…While most commonly DN is directed at trigger points [2], its contemporary use also targets tendons [3,4], entheses [5], periosteum [6], scar tissue [7], and fascia [8] to reduce local and referred pain, lessen spasticity [9,10], eliminate neural entrapments [11], increase range of motion [12], or normalize muscle activation patterns [13]. DN is a safe anatomy-driven procedure [14], although there are inherent risks when safety precautions are not taken into account [15][16][17][18].…”