Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs).
Specific interventions included in the review
Studies in which some form of needling therapy was used in at least one group were eligible for inclusion. The interventions included in the review were direct wet needling, direct dry needling, indirect dry needling, and indirect wet needling.
Participants included in the review
Studies of patients with clinical pain or dysfunction of the human musculoskeletal system were eligible for inclusion. Pain had to be described as myofascial pain or arising from muscular trigger points.
Outcomes assessed in the review
No inclusion criteria relating to the outcomes were specified. Subjective pain scores were rated on a variety of pain assessment questionnaires and scoring systems (both self-reporting and administered).
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors do not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the reviewers performed the selection.[A:Papers were selected based on the predefined inclusion criteria by TMC. Papers that were not easily allocated using the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria were considered by both authors and consensus was reached about allocation].