Ultrasound-Guided Miniscalpel-Needle Release versus Dry Needling for Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Table 1
Baseline characteristics of patients with chronic neck pain before random allocation to be treated with ultrasound-guided MSN release or dry needling.
Variable
UG-MSN release ()
UG-DN ()
Demographics
Age, yr
39.0 ± 14.1
42.4 ± 13.7
0.1
Male, %
54.9
65.8
0.3
Disease duration, yr
4.7 ± 2.3
5.3 ± 2.9
0.1
Previous treatments, %
Current analgesic medication
42.7
54.8
0.2
Physical therapy, chiropractic, or massage
47.6
58.9
0.2
Pain intensity
10-point visual analog scale score
6.8 ± 1.6
7.1 ± 1.8
0.3
Neck disability
Neck disability index score
17.9 ± 8.3
16.0 ± 5.4
0.1
Health-related quality of life (SF-36)
Physical component score
41.3 ± 14.0
43.6 ± 16.1
0.1
Mental component score
43.4 ± 12.6
44.4 ± 16.8
0.7
UG-DN: ultrasound-guided dry needling; UG-MSN: ultrasound-guided miniscalpel-needle. Data expressed as mean ± SD or %. Assessed using independent Student’s -test for continuous variables and using the χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables.
