Dry needling or corticosteroid injections for musculoskeletal conditions: A systematic review

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, both dry needling (DN) and corticosteroids (CSs) are emerging topics to treat various conditions. The aim of this systematic review is to critically analyze the literature to compare DN and CS injections for the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. METHODOLOGY: This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Various databases were used to search relevant articles using the Cochrane handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and different keywords. Articles were collected altogether and selected on the basis of eligibility criteria. The final sets of articles were selected after complete screening. RESULTS: Initially, 131 articles were selected for review. On the basis of eligibility criteria and availability of full-text articles, 9 articles were selected. Out of these, only 7 articles were selected for review. Study quality assessment was done through PEDro, and risk of bias was done through RoB2. CONCLUSION: DN is superior over CS injection in treating various musculoskeletal conditions.