Can Dry Needling Switch Off Trigger Points?What a 2024 Trial Found
In people with tension-type headache, dry needling eased headache intensity and cut the number of active trigger points.
- Written by
- MyoFitness Research Team
- Published
- Reading time
- 2 min read
- Year
- 2024
- Journal
- Journal of Personalized Medicine
- Study design
- Randomised controlled trial (people with tension-type headache and active trigger points)
- Lead author
- Monti-Ballano S et al.
What the study looked at
Active myofascial trigger points, those tight, tender knots in a band of muscle, can refer pain into the head and are a recognised feature of tension-type headache. This 2024 trial looked at whether dry needling could reduce both the headache and the trigger points themselves.
Participants with tension-type headache were randomly assigned to receive dry needling or to a control group. The researchers then compared headache intensity, the number of active trigger points, and how much people felt they had improved.
What the treatment involved
Targeting Active Trigger Points
The dry needling group had fine needles inserted into active trigger points, with the aim of releasing the taut band and calming its referral of pain.
Measuring Real Change
Alongside headache intensity, the researchers counted active trigger points before and after, giving a physical measure of change in the muscle.
What the results showed
Dry needling produced greater improvements than the control condition on the study's main measures.
- 01
Less Intense Headache
The dry needling group reported lower headache intensity after treatment than the control group.
- 02
Fewer Active Trigger Points
The number of active trigger points fell more in the dry needling group, a physical sign of change in the muscle.
- 03
Felt More Improved
People who received dry needling reported a greater sense of meaningful improvement overall.
- 04
A Targeted Effect
The benefit centred on the muscles that were actually needled, supporting a specific rather than general effect.
Key finding in plain terms
Dry needling reduced both headache intensity and the number of active trigger points, and people felt more improved, compared with the control group.
What this means for practice
This adds to the evidence that needling active trigger points can help headaches driven by muscular tension. It supports using dry needling as a targeted tool within a broader treatment plan, chosen after assessment rather than applied to everyone.
Because the study measured trigger points directly, it also reinforces the value of assessing and reassessing the muscles, so treatment can be guided by what is actually changing.
Clinical relevance by discipline
Physiotherapy
Supports needling active trigger points as part of a plan that also builds movement and load tolerance.
Myotherapy
Directly reinforces trigger point dry needling as a core tool for tension-driven headache.
Remedial Massage
Soft tissue work complements needling by settling the surrounding muscles and tissue.
Sports Treatment
Relevant for active clients who carry trigger points in the neck and shoulders from training and posture.
Limitations to be aware of
This was a small study, so the findings should be read as promising rather than definitive, and larger trials with longer follow up would strengthen the picture. As with all needling research, blinding is difficult, which can influence self-reported outcomes.
Summary
In people with tension-type headache and active trigger points, dry needling reduced headache intensity and the number of active trigger points, and people felt more improved, compared with a control group.
For myotherapists, this supports trigger point dry needling as a targeted, assessment-led tool for tension-type headache.
Full research paper
This page is a plain-language summary. The original paper holds the full methods, statistics and discussion.
Monti-Ballano S, and colleagues (2024). Effects of Dry Needling on Active Myofascial Trigger Points and Pain Intensity in Tension-Type Headache. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 14(4), 332.
DOI10.3390/jpm14040332
Read the full paperTrigger point and headache treatment is available at MyoFitness.
Find a qualified myotherapist or remedial massage therapist who works from the research, or write to us with a question about this study.
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