{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T05:41:06Z","timestamp":1776058866296,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776038400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Dry needling (DN) is used in sports medicine for myofascial pain, injury and recovery, but athlete-specific effects over time are uncertain. Objective: To synthesize evidence on DN applied to cervical and related upper-quarter regions in athletes, distinguishing (i) symptomatic athlete trials from (ii) post-exertion recovery trials, and to summarize injury-related outcomes only when prospectively reported.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Data sources<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science searched 11 Feb 2026. Study selection: Trials\/prospective studies in athletes comparing DN (alone or add-on) with sham\/no intervention or active comparators.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Two authors independently screened\/extracted data and assessed risk of bias (RoB 2; ROBINS-I).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Eight studies were included. In symptomatic overhead\/throwing athletes, DN improved pain and shoulder ROM immediately versus no treatment in one trial, while several trials showed no differences versus active comparators or sham. Recovery trials showed inconsistent differences in hemodynamic indices and inflammatory markers, and their short follow-up and proxy endpoints limit inference about next-session performance, training continuity, or injury risk.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      DN may provide short-term symptom modulation in sport athletes. Evidence for consistent recovery\/readiness enhancement, performance benefit, or injury prevention remains highly uncertain and is constrained by proxy outcome selection and short time windows. Registration: OSF\n                      <jats:uri>osf.io\/fsg6w<\/jats:uri>\n                      (11 February 2026).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Systematic review registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      OSF (Open Science Framework; ID:\n                      <jats:uri>osf.io\/fsg6w<\/jats:uri>\n                      (11 February 2026).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1813780","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T04:41:59Z","timestamp":1776055319000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effects of dry needling on recovery, neuromuscular function, and injury outcomes in sports athletes: a systematic review targeting the neck and related regions"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Gracjan","family":"Olaniszyn","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Katowice Business University","place":["Katowice, Poland"]},{"name":"Olaniszyn Physiotherapy Centre","place":["Racib\u00f3rz, Poland"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Irenusz","family":"Ryszkiel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medical Sciences, Medical University of Silesia","place":["Katowice, Poland"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Robert","family":"Trybulski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Katowice Business University","place":["Katowice, Poland"]},{"name":"Provita Medical Centre","place":["\u017bory, Poland"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cyprian","family":"Olchowy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Collegium Medicum, Jan Dlugosz University","place":["Czestochowa, Poland"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karol","family":"Pilis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences and Physiotherapy, Collegium Medicum, Jan Dlugosz University","place":["Czestochowa, Poland"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"551","DOI":"10.26603\/001c.35693","article-title":"Dry needling: a clinical commentary","volume":"17","author":"McAphee","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Sports Phys Ther"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"940","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbmt.2017.03.008","article-title":"The local twitch response during trigger point dry needling: is it necessary for successful outcomes?","volume":"21","author":"Perreault","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Bodyw Mov 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