• Seung-Hyun Yoon, Ueon Woo Rah, Seung Soo Sheen, and Kye Hee Cho.
• Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea. yoonsh@ajou.ac.kr
• Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2009 Aug 1;90(8):1332-9.

ObjectivesTo investigate (1) the relation between needle diameter and treatment efficacy of myofascial pain syndrome and (2) the relation between needle diameter and pain intensity during injection.DesignRandomized controlled trial.SettingUniversity-affiliated tertiary-care hospital.ParticipantsVolunteers (N=77) with myofascial pain syndrome affecting upper- and middle-trapezius muscles with at least 3 months' duration of pain.InterventionParticipants were randomly assigned to receive trigger point injections on 1 side of the trapezius with a 21-, 23-, or 25-gauge needle. After a 1-time injection, participants were followed up for 14 days. Participants and the assessor were blinded for group assignment.Main Outcome MeasuresTreatment efficacy was measured with the visual analog scale (VAS; at pretreatment, and posttreatment on days 1, 4, 7, 14) for neck and upper-back pain, the Neck Disability Index (NDI; at pretreatment, and posttreatment on days 7, 14), and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36, at pretreatment and posttreatment on days 7, 14) for health-related quality of life. Pain intensity during injection was evaluated immediately after injection with VAS.ResultsVAS scores for posttreatment on days 4, 7, and 14 decreased significantly compared with pretreatment scores in all groups; NDI scores on days 7 and 14 decreased significantly compared with pretreatment scores in all groups; SF-36 scores on days 7 and 14 decreased significantly compared with pretreatment scores in the 21- and 23-gauge needle groups; and SF-36 score on day 14 showed significant difference between the 21- and 25-gauge needle groups. For pain intensity during injection, VAS scores indicated no significant difference between the 3 groups.ConclusionsNo difference between the needle types was observed in terms of VAS or NDI, or in terms of pain intensity felt by patients during injection. In terms of SF-36 scores, injections with 21- or 23-gauge needles were found to be more effective. However, a well-controlled investigation is needed to explore the effect of needle thickness on health-related quality of life.

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