The Effect of Dry Needling to the Multifidus Muscle on Resting and Contracted Thickness of Transversus Abdominis in Subjects with Low Back Pain

Study Design: Randomized, double-blinded, controlled clinical trial. Objective: To measure the effects of dry needling to the lumbar multifidus (MF) muscle for any change in resting and contracted thickness of the transversus abdominis (TrA) muscle as well as symptoms and disability in individuals with low back pain (LBP). Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that individuals with LBP have diminished co-activation of the lumbar MF and TrA muscles, which when working appropriately in healthy individuals, contributes to spinal stability and function. A significant change in the resting and contracted thickness of TrA has been found with dry needling to the lumbar MF in healthy subjects, but this has yet to be studied in individuals with low back pain. Methods: Thirty adults with LBP were randomly assigned to receive dry needling intervention or a sham needling intervention to the lumbar MF. The participants received instruction on the deep corset contraction (DCC) for purposes of measuring TrA muscle relaxation and contracted thickness with real time ultrasound (US) imaging pre- and post-intervention. Along with the US measurements, the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), the Global Rating of Change Scale (GROC) and the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) were used to measure outcomes at baseline, immediately post-, 2-days post, and 7-days post intervention. (See pdf for full abstract