Immediate Effect of Dry Needling on Trigger Points

July 14, 2020 updated by: Mélanie Roch, Université de Sherbrooke

Immediate Effect of Dry Needling on the Viscoelastic Properties of a Trigger Point on the Infraspinatus Muscle Measured With the MyotonPro

The immediate effects (0-30 minutes) of a dry needling intervention on a trigger point on their viscoelastic properties (tone, elasticity and stiffness)

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Objectives: To investigate the immediate effects of a dry needling puncture on the viscoelastic properties (tone, stiffness and elasticity) of a trigger point (TP) located in the infraspinatus muscle in participants with non-traumatic chronic shoulder pain.

Methods: Forty-eight individuals who presented non-traumatic chronic shoulder pain were recruited. The presence of a TP in the infraspinatus muscle of the painful side was confirmed by an experienced physiotherapist with a palpatory exam according to Travell and Simons criteria. The TP was marked and the viscoelastic properties including tone, stiffness and elasticity were measured with the MyotonPro device by an evaluator. After the first set of measurements (T1), an experienced physiotherapist applied a dry needling puncture to the TP with a pistoning technique to obtain a local twitch response (LTR) with an Optimed 40 x 0.30 mm single use acupuncture needle. The same set of measurements was repeated immediately after the dry needling (T2) and 30 minutes later (T3). Repeated measures ANOVA and post-hoc tests were used to assess changes in viscoelastic properties over time with a significant level set at 0.05.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

48

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Quebec
      • Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, J1H5N4
        • CRCHUS-Physius Lab

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 61 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. present with chronic shoulder pain of non-traumatic origin (rated at least 2/10 on a numeric rating scale (NRS) for more than 3 months. The pain had to be located in the shoulder area or referred in the area of the infraspinatus as described by Travell and Simons (1999);
  2. have a hyperirritable spot within a palpable tight band that reproduced the participant's pain when compressed by palpation; and
  3. have a body mass index (BMI) lower than 28

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. diagnosis of capsulitis, cancer, or metastasis;
  2. previous shoulder or thorax surgery or a mastectomy;
  3. shoulder girdle bone fracture;
  4. C4-C5 or C6 radiculopathy;
  5. known osteoporotic profile (positive bone densitometry);
  6. apparent atrophy of the infraspinatus fossa (visual interpretation) and
  7. contraindications to receive a DN intervention

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Dry needling of a trigger point in the infraspinatus muscle
Insertion a a acupuncture type needle into a trigger point in the infraspinatus muscle on the painful side to decrease the stiffness and tone and increase the elasticity
Insertion of a Optimed 40mm x 0.30 single use, sterile acupuncture needle into a active trigger point in the infraspinatus muscle

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Tone in Hertz measured with a myotonometer on the trigger point
Time Frame: baseline
Measurement of the tone in Hz with the myotonometer MyotonPro on the trigger point
baseline
Tone in Hertz measured with a myotonometer on the trigger point
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Measurement of the tone in Hz with the myotonometer MyotonPro on the trigger point
immediately after the intervention
Tone in Hertz measured with a myotonometer on the trigger point
Time Frame: 30 minutes after the intervention
Measurement of the tone in Hz with the myotonometer MyotonPro on the trigger point
30 minutes after the intervention
Stiffness in N/m with a myotonometer on the trigger point
Time Frame: baseline
Measurement of the stiffness in N/m with the myotonometer MyotonPro on the trigger point
baseline
Stiffness in N/m with a myotonometer on the trigger point
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Measurement of the stiffness in N/m with the myotonometer MyotonPro on the trigger point
immediately after the intervention
Stiffness in N/m with a myotonometer on the trigger point
Time Frame: 30 minutes after the intervention
Measurement of the stiffness in N/m with the myotonometer MyotonPro on the trigger point
30 minutes after the intervention
Elasticity (no units: inversely proportional to the decrement of the oscillations) with a myotonometer on the trigger point
Time Frame: baseline
Measurement of the elasticity with the MyotonPro
baseline
Elasticity (no units: inversely proportional to the decrement of the oscillations) with a myotonometer on the trigger point
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Measurement of the elasticity with the MyotonPro
immediately after the intervention
Elasticity (no units: inversely proportional to the decrement of the oscillations) with a myotonometer on the trigger point
Time Frame: 30 minutes after the intervention
Measurement of the elasticity with the MyotonPro
30 minutes after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 1, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 7, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

September 20, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 27, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 14, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

July 20, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 20, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 14, 2020

Last Verified

July 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • MON07

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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