NCT04851743

Effects on Neuromuscular Function After Dry Needling in Myofascial Trigger Points in the Gastrocnemius Muscles

Completed NA Last updated 8 July 2021

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Dry needling in Myofascial Trigger Point Pain in 50 participants. Completed in 6 July 2021.

Timeline

10 May 2021

Primary endpoint
1 July 2021

6 July 2021

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	single
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	50
Start date	10 May 2021
Primary completion	1 July 2021
Estimated completion	6 July 2021
Sites	1 location across Spain

Drugs / interventions tested

• Dry needling

Conditions studied

• Myofascial Trigger Point Pain — all drugs for Myofascial Trigger Point Pain →

Sponsor

Universitat Internacional de Catalunya — full company profile →

Who can join

Adults 18 to 80, any sex, with Myofascial Trigger Point Pain. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Trigger points (TrPs) are a common musculoskeletal cause of local and referred muscle pain, as well as local inflammation in the muscle and fascia. From a clinical and sensory viewpoint, TrPs may be classified as active or latent. The principal difference is the reproduction of symptoms experienced by an individual (active) with or without stimulation. Local and referred pain elicited from latent TrPs may be transient in duration upon stimulation, and latent TrPs may be present without spontaneous symptoms.

Both active and latent TrPs induce motor dysfunctions such as stiffness, restricted range of motion, and accelerated fatigability in the affected muscle. The interrater reliability of manual identification of latent TrPs in the calf muscles has been found to range from small to moderate. The clinical relevance of latent TrPs has increased in the last decade,4 and some studies have investigated the effects of treating them. Among all manual therapies targeted to latent TrPs, ischemic compression, or TrP pressure release, is the most commonly used. Although TrPs may affect any muscle, the gastrocnemius muscle may be the most susceptible in the lower extremity to developing them. It has been reported that 13% to 30% of the asymptomatic population has latent TrPs in these muscles, and their presence may affect sport practice.

The purpose of this study will be to evaluate changes in neuromuscular function, pain perception, and basic physical properties in myofascial trigger points (TrPs) after a single treatment session of dry needling in the gastrocnemius muscle.

A randomized within-participant clinical trial with a blinded assessor will be conducted. 50 asymptomatic volunteers (100 gastrocnemius-muscle) with MrPs gastrocnemius-muscle TrPs will bilaterally explored. Each extremity will be randomly assigned to the control group (no treatment) or the experimental group (60 seconds of dry needling over each TrP). Neuromuscular function of the gastrocnemius muscle will be assessed using a MyotonPro and a tensiomyography. Muscle flexibility will be analyzed using the lunge test and the passive ankle range of motion. The strength will be determined with a handheld dynamometer (MicroFET2). Pain perception will be analyzed with a 0-to-10 numerical pain rating scale and determination of pressure pain thresholds over each latent TrP.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Effects of Dry Needling of Latent Trigger Points on Viscoelastic and Muscular Contractile Properties: Preliminary Results of a Randomized Within-Participant Clinical Trial.
   Pérez-Bellmunt A, Casasayas-Cos O, López-de-Celis C, Rodríguez-Sanz J, et al · · 2021 · cited 10× · PMID 34501299 · DOI 10.3390/jcm10173848