No Effect of Acupuncture in the Relief of Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Conclusions: Acupuncture was not effective in the treatment of DOMS. From a mechanistic point of view, these results have implications for further studies: (1) considering the high-threshold mechanosensitive nociceptors of the muscle, the cutoff for PPT (5 kg/cm2) chosen to avoid bruising might have led to ceiling effects; (2) the traditional acupuncture regimen, targeting muscle pain, might have been inappropriate as the DOMS mechanisms seem limited to the muscular unit and its innervation. Therefore, a regionally based regimen including an intensified intramuscular needling (dry needling) should be tested in future studies, using a higher cutoff for PPT to avoid ceiling effects.
Source: Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Original Research Source Type: research