Which patient outcome is a key indicator of effective dry needling treatment?

The key indicator of effective dry needling treatment is the patient’s subjective pain relief and functional recovery. This outcome emphasizes the importance of the patient's personal experience and perception of their condition post-treatment. Dry needling aims to address myofascial pain, reduce muscle tension, and enhance overall function, which ultimately reflects in how the patient feels and performs in daily activities.

Measuring pain relief through self-reported outcomes provides valuable insight into the treatment's effectiveness. Additionally, improvements in functional recovery indicate that the patient can return to their desired activities, demonstrating that the dry needling treatment has positively impacted their quality of life.

While improved documentation accuracy and reduced muscle tension can be beneficial for practitioners and may occur as a result of treatment, they do not directly reflect the ultimate goal of patient-centric outcomes. Similarly, increased patient visits do not equate to better treatment efficacy; the focus should remain on the patient’s improvements rather than simply the frequency of visits.