Dry needling has lasting analgesic effect in shoulder pain: a double-blind, sham-controlled trial.

Introduction: Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) affects most patients with chronic shoulder pain. Dry needling (DN) is a common treatment for MPS, but its temporal pattern and sensory effects remain unknown.

Objectives: We evaluated in a randomized, sham-controlled study the pattern of analgesic efficacy and local sensory changes of a single session of DN for MPS in patients with chronic shoulder pain.