NCT07384247: DN

Trigger Point Dry Needling With and Without Electrical Stimulation in Healthy Subjects

Completed NA Last updated 3 February 2026

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Dry needling with electrical stimulation in People With Identified Painful Trigger Points (Tp) Within the Soleus and Gastrocnemius Muscles Complex in 40 participants. Completed in 30 April 2023.

Timeline

2 January 2023

Primary endpoint
20 April 2023

30 April 2023

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	University of Rhode Island
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	na
Design	single group
Masking	none
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	40
Start date	2 January 2023
Primary completion	20 April 2023
Estimated completion	30 April 2023
Sites	1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• Dry needling with electrical stimulation
• Dry needling
• Electrical stimulation
• Sham

Conditions studied

• People With Identified Painful Trigger Points (Tp) Within the Soleus and Gastrocnemius Muscles Complex — all drugs for People With Identified Painful Trigger Points (Tp) Within the Soleus and Gastrocnemius Muscles Complex →
• Healthy Subjects or Volunteers — all drugs for Healthy Subjects or Volunteers →

Sponsor

University of Rhode Island

Who can join

Adults 18 to 55, any sex, with People With Identified Painful Trigger Points (Tp) Within the Soleus and Gastrocnemius Muscles Complex or Healthy Subjects or Volunteers. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

DN is one of the most commonly used physical therapy (PT) interventions for managing trigger points (Tp). Evidence suggests that DN was equally effective as other PT interventions, compared to no treatment or Sham-DN. Electrical stimulation (ES) is also a commonly used non-invasive method for pain management during PT. Recently, several studies suggested that combining DN with ES may be more effective in trigger point release than DN alone. The goal of this clinical trial was to determine the effects that trigger point dry needling with and without electrical stimulation had on pain threshold. It would also learn about the effect the trigger point dry needling has on muscle activity in people with identified painful trigger points within the soleus and gastrocnemius muscle complex. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* In terms of trigger point pain threshold, is DN combined with ES superior to DN alone, ES alone, or Sham treatment?
* In terms of muscle activity, is DN with ES superior to DN only, ES only or Sham treatment? Researchers will compare dry needling with electrical stimulation, dry needling only, electrical stimulation only and a Sham treatment to see these interventions affect pain threshold and muscle activity.

Participants will:

* Randomly assigned as one of the four groups
* Visit the clinic once for test
* Receive permission and conduct intervention according to protocol.

Publications & conference data

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

1. Effect of Electrical Stimulation with Trigger Point Dry Needling on Pain and H-Reflex Muscle Activity
   Lee JY, Agostinucci J. · · 2026 · DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8987838/v1