Dry Needling for Treatment of Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: To review current literature about the effectiveness of dry needling interventions on osteoarthritis. Methods: Literature was gathered through PubMed, CINHAL, and Google Scholar and assessed for the effectiveness of dry needling interventions on osteoarthritis. Results: The majority of literature supported the stance that dry needling interventions have a favorable effect for decreasing pain, increased mobility, and increase range of motion for patients with osteoarthritis. When different methods were directly compared, these studies didn’t identify a preferred method for best improving pain and mobility in patients with osteoarthritis. Conclusions: Dry needling interventions show promising results for patients with osteoarthritis. These interventions should be researched further to find how they can decrease pain and increase mobility in patients with osteoarthritis. The findings of this systematic review can guide clinical practice to relieving osteoarthritis with dry needling. Keywords: Osteoarthritis; dry needling; range of motion; pain; mobility.