The Effect of Dry Needle Treatment on Sleep in Fibromyalgia

Objective: Our open-label clinical trial; to investigate the effect of dry needling on sleep problems in fibromyalgia patients with trigger points. Material and Method: Informed consent forms were obtained from a total of 100 patients with trigger points in the upper trapezius and rhomboid muscles who were under regular medical treatment, and followed up with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia for at least six months in the outpatient clinic. All patients were evaluated with FIQ (Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire), BDI (Beck Depression Scale), PSQI (Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index) and VAS (Visual Analog Scale). The patients were divided into two groups by computer-assisted simple randomization. In the study group, 50 fibromyalgia patients with trigger points were given a total of three dry needle injections to the upper trapezius and rhomboid muscles for a total of three weeks at weekly intervals, while 50 fibromyalgia patients with trigger points in the control group were not given any needling. One month after the first evaluation questionnaires of all patients (all of the study and control groups), the FIQ, BDI, PSQI scores were checked again and the patients were questioned by VAS (Visuel Pain Scale). Results: There was a statistically significant difference in FIQ, PSQI and VAS scores when the groups were compared in terms of amounts of change (respectively; p<0.001, p=0.007 ve p=0.035). Conclusion: In our study, it was observed that dry needles applied to trigger points of fibromyalgia patients had a statistically significant contribution to patients in terms of FIQ, PSQI and VAS values.