The Effects of Dry Needling on the Superficial Neck Musculature

NCT ID: NCT04060004

Last Updated: 2023-07-19

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

50 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2019-09-05

Study Completion Date

2021-05-27

Brief Summary

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The term myofascial pain refers to the existence of myofascial trigger points (MTP), which are defined as hypersensitive points in a tense band of skeletal muscle, which can cause referred pain or autonomous phenomena.

To address the treatment of myofascial trigger points, conservative and invasive techniques have been proposed. Dry needling is one of the invasive techniques that have been shown to be effective in improving pain and function in patients with myofascial trigger points.

This trial aims to analyse the effectiveness of dry needling in patients with myofascial neck pain.

Detailed Description

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The main objective of the study is to analyze the effects of dry needling on the superficial neck musculature in patients with chronic myofascial neck pain in terms of pain, functional capacity, mobility, psychosocial variables and motor control compared with both sham dry needling group and control group.

In addition, a secondary objective is to analyze the relationships between the psychosocial variables and the results obtained in the variables analyzed in the patients belonging to the three groups.

For this purpose the investigators conduct a randomized controlled trial double-blind. Patients included are randomized into 3 groups. One receives dry needling, another one receives sham dry needling, and the last one is a control group.

The hypothesis of this study is that patients in the real dry needling group will improve more compared to patients in the sham dry needling group and the control group.

Conditions

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Neck Pain

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Investigators

Study Groups

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Control group

Electrotherapy + therapeutic exercise

Group Type OTHER

Electrotherapy + therapeutic exercise

Intervention Type OTHER

Standard care of neck pain.

Experimental group 1

Electrotherapy + therapeutic exercise + dry needling

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Dry needling

Intervention Type OTHER

Dry needling is a technique used by physiotherapists.

Electrotherapy + therapeutic exercise

Intervention Type OTHER

Standard care of neck pain.

Experimental group 2

Electrotherapy + therapeutic exercise + sham dry needling

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Sham dry needling

Intervention Type OTHER

Sham dry needling is a technique used by physiotherapists to compare the effects of dry needling.

Electrotherapy + therapeutic exercise

Intervention Type OTHER

Standard care of neck pain.

Interventions

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Dry needling

Dry needling is a technique used by physiotherapists.

Intervention Type OTHER

Sham dry needling

Sham dry needling is a technique used by physiotherapists to compare the effects of dry needling.

Intervention Type OTHER

Electrotherapy + therapeutic exercise

Standard care of neck pain.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Patients with myofascial neck pain
* Presence of at least one active myofascial trigger point on the superficial neck musculature
* Neck pain of at least 3 months
* Age 18-70
* Pain intensity between 20 and 100 mm in the Analog Visual Scale
* Neck disability index (NDI) greater than or equal to 15 points
* Spanish speakers
* Patients who do not present contraindications for the use of dry needling (anticoagulants, nickel allergy or belenophobia)
* Patients who have not received physiotherapy or pharmacological treatment for neck pain for the last three months

Exclusion Criteria

* History of cervical trauma
* Cervical spine surgery
* Vertebral fracture
* Cervical pain associated with whiplash
* Red flags (tumor, metabolic disorders or rheumatoid arthritis)
* Inflammatory lesion in the neck region
* Pregnancy
* Fibromyalgia diagnosis
* Neck pain associated with radiculopathy
* Patients pending legal litigation
* Psychiatric pathology diagnosis
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

70 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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University of Valladolid

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Ricardo Medrano de la Fuente

Physiotherapist

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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Facultad de Fisioterapia, Universidad de Valladolid

Soria, , Spain

Site Status

Countries

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Spain

Other Identifiers

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1.0 14/12/2018

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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