Dry Needling and Therapeutic Exercise on Sleep in Individuals With Chronic Neck Pain and Sleep Disturbance

Effects of Dry Needling and Therapeutic Exercise on Sleep in Individuals With Chronic Neck Pain and Sleep Disturbance - A Pilot Study

Feasibility study investigating the effects of dry needling on individuals with chronic neck pain and sleep disturbance.

The purpose of this pilot study is to determine the feasibility of a large randomized clinical trial (RCT) which aims to investigate the effects of dry needling (DN) in addition to therapeutic exercise (TE) on sleep duration and quality in patients with chronic neck pain (CNP) and sleep disturbance (SD). Specifically, the objective is to explore feasibility of a study protocol and examine the preliminary data of a small sample size for the effectiveness of DN and TE for individuals with CNP and SD to determine effect size of the intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Neck pain lasting greater than 3 months 28,29
• Age: 18-75 years
• Presence of sleep disturbance - to be defined as a score ≥ 8 on the Insomnia Severity Index
• Ability to understand study procedures and to comply with them for the entire length of the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previous surgery to the neck or thoracic spine

• Central nervous system disorders

• Systemic joint disease (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis)

• Infection

• Cancer

• Raynaud's disease

• Pregnancy

• Immunocompromised disease (e.g., diabetes mellitus, HIV, AIDS, lupus)

• Insufficient English-language skills to complete all questionnaires.

• Contraindications to dry needling:

  • Presence of needle phobia
  • History of abnormal reaction to needling or injection
  • History of bleeding disorder (e.g., current anticoagulant therapy or known thrombocytopenia)