Impact of physical therapists' instructions on function and the perception of post-dry needling soreness in mechanical cervical pain; a randomized clinical trial.

Background: To investigate the impact of physical therapists' instructions on the perception of post dry needling (DN) soreness and function in patients with mechanical neck pain.

Methods: Seventy-five patients with neck pain were randomly assigned to three groups: "positive" group (n = 25) received positive verbal input; "negative" group (n = 25) received negative verbal input, and control group (n = 25) did not receive any input about post-needling soreness. All three groups received DN of a trigger point in the upper trapezius muscle.