NCT07315776

Effects of Electrical Muscle Stimulation on Myofascial Pain Syndrome

Completed NA Last updated 2 January 2026

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Therapist-assisted Passive stretching (PS) in Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS) in 65 participants. Completed in 20 September 2025.

Timeline

25 November 2022

Primary endpoint
28 March 2024

20 September 2025

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	University of Bath
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	crossover
Masking	triple
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	65
Start date	25 November 2022
Primary completion	28 March 2024
Estimated completion	20 September 2025
Sites	1 location across United Kingdom

Drugs / interventions tested

• Therapist-assisted Passive stretching (PS)
• The two-combination of EMS+AS
• Trigger point pressure release (TPR)
• Trigger point pressure release combined with active stretching (TPR+AS)
• The triple combination therapy of EMS+AS+TPR
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
• Sham stimulation combined with active stretching (SS+AS)

Conditions studied

• Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS) — all drugs for Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS) →

Sponsor

University of Bath

Who can join

18 and older, any sex, with Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS). Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine if Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) combined with Active Stretching (AS) (EMS+AS) and EMS+AS combined with Trigger Point Pressure Release (TPR) (EMS+AS+TPR) are effective treatments for Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS) in working adults. The study will also assess the safety of the EMS+AS intervention. The main questions it aims to answer are: Do EMS+AS and EMS+AS+TPR lead to greater pain reduction, increased pressure pain threshold, and improved surface electromyography (sEMG) activity when compared to standard treatments? Furthermore, what is the participant feedback regarding EMS+AS and other treatments?

Researchers will compare EMS+AS to passive stretching (PS) and TPR to see if EMS+AS and EMS+AS+TPR are effective in treating myofascial trigger points in the trapezius muscle.

Participants will receive seven interventions across a single visit, including PS, EMS+AS, TPR, TPR combined with AS (TPR+AS), EMS+AS+TPR, Sham stimulation, and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS). Each treatment will consist of three 10-second sets with a 10-second rest between sets, and a 2-minute break provided between different treatments. Participants will have measurements taken on changes in pain intensity, pressure pain threshold, and sEMG activity during trapezius action pre- and post-treatment. Additionally, participants will report personal information, previous MPS treatments, and baseline health status, and provide feedback on satisfaction, treatment preferences, exercise knowledge for MPS prevention, and qualitative comments. For supplementary data, we selected only the EMS+AS and TPR interventions with the same protocol to evaluate changes in range of motion and changes in trigger point size and trapezius thickness (both at rest and during stretching) via ultrasound imaging.

Publications & conference data

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

1. Electrical muscle stimulation towards self-physiotherapy on myofascial pain syndrome.
   Churproong S, Metcalfe B, Mcguigan P, Zhang D. · · 2026 · PMID 42221743 · DOI 10.3389/fresc.2026.1817369