The Effectiveness of Tibial Nerve Mobilization in Patients With Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome

July 19, 2022 updated by: Kutahya Health Sciences University
This randomized, clinical, single-blinded, controlledstudywasinitiallyplannedtoinclude 35 patients diagnosed with tarsal tunnel who applied to Kütahya Health Sciences University, Evliya Çelebi Training and Research Hospital, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation outpatient clinic.Patients aged 20-55 years who were diagnosed with tarsal tunnel syndrome by electromyography (EMG) in the last 6 months were included in the study. The patients were randomized into two groups using the computer-assisted randomization method. Tibial nerve mobilization and foot-ankle range of motion exercises will be given to the study group, and only foot-ankle joint range of motion exercises will be given to the control group. All the patients were evaluated with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Foot Functional Index (FFI), Neuropathic Pain QuestionnaireN (NPQ) and Tibial Nerve ultrasonography before the intervention and at the fourth week of intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • 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

  • Turkey
      • Kütahya, Turkey
        • Kutahya Health Sciences University

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

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years to 51 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients aged 20-55 years who were diagnosed with tarsal tunnel syndrome by electromyography (EMG) in the last 6 months were included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Have a systemic inflammatory disease
  • Presence of a cognitive disorder, receiving psychotherapy or any psychiatric treatment, disease affecting the central nervous system
  • Being illiterate
  • Having hearing, vision problems
  • History of foot and ankle surgery
  • Any pathology that may cause pain in the foot joint diagnosed on physical examination
  • Inadequate function of any extremity that would prevent exercise
  • The presence of a balance disorder or a disease that can disrupt the balance
  • Diagnosis of advanced cardiac or lung disease for which exercise would be contraindicated

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Nerve Mobilization Group
Tibial nerve mobilization in addition to foot-ankle joint range of motion exercises
Other: Tibial Nerve Mobilization
The person performing tibial nerve mobilization will start mobilization by keeping the lower extremity in a horizontal position, with the patient's hip and knee in 45° flexion and ankle in neutral position. Then, in order to mobilize the tibial nerve better, the patient will bring the patient's toes to the extension position, the ankle to the dorsiflexion and eversion position, and the knee joint to the extension to provide appropriate stabilization. Finally, while the patient is in this position, mobilization will be completed by plantar flexion of the distal ankle and flexion of the toes to allow the nerve to slide further distally. This mobilization technique will be performed by an experienced physician/physiotherapist twice a week for 4 weeks, and the patients will be given 5 sets of 10 cycles with a 1-minute rest period in each set.
Other: Foot-ankle range of motion exercises
In exercise program, foot-ankle joint range of motion exercises will be given. In our study, all exercises will be explained and performed once under the supervision of a physiotherapist, and then the participants will be asked to do all exercises with 10 repetitions, 3 times a day, for four weeks, without the supervision of a physiotherapist.
Active Comparator: Control group
Only joint range of motion exercises
Other: Foot-ankle range of motion exercises
In exercise program, foot-ankle joint range of motion exercises will be given. In our study, all exercises will be explained and performed once under the supervision of a physiotherapist, and then the participants will be asked to do all exercises with 10 repetitions, 3 times a day, for four weeks, without the supervision of a physiotherapist.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Visual analogue scale
Time Frame: Change from Baseline at 4th weeks
VAS, a scale consisting of a single line of 10 cm, was used to evaluate pain severity.
Change from Baseline at 4th weeks
Evaluation of the tibial nerve with ultrasonography
Time Frame: Change from Baseline at 4th weeks
Bilateral tibial nerve US evaluation using a 6-18 Mhz linear probe (Mindray-UMT 200, USA) will be performed by another clinician experienced in musculoskeletal ultrasonography and blind to the clinical evaluation findings of patients.
Change from Baseline at 4th weeks
Tinel's Sign
Time Frame: Change from Baseline at 4th weeks
It is performed by lightly tapping (percussing) over the nerve to elicit a sensation of tingling or "pins and needles" in the distribution of the Tibial nerve. The Tinel sign is the tingling or prickling sensation elicited by the percussion of an injured nerve trunk at or distal to the site of the lesion. The test is positive when a tingling or prickling sensation is felt in the distribution of the Tibial nerve.
Change from Baseline at 4th weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Foot Function Index
Time Frame: Change from Baseline at 4th weeks
The severity of foot pain was scored with 23 items measuring the degree of difficulty in performing various functional activities due to foot problems and activity limitations due to foot problems. Turkish validity and reliability of the questionnaire was determined by Yalıman et al.
Change from Baseline at 4th weeks
Neuropathic pain questionnaire
Time Frame: Change from Baseline at 4th weeks
Neuropathic pain questionnaire consists of 12 questions. Of the 12 questions, 10 are related to the character of the pain while two questions are related to sensitivity changes.
Change from Baseline at 4th weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Kutahya Health Sciences University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Merve Akdeniz Leblebicier, MD, Kutahya Health Sciences University

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)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 15, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 6, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 24, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 24, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 1, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 20, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 19, 2022

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • KutahyaHSUtibialnerve

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Undecided

IPD Plan Description

Yes

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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