Dry Needling and Electromyographic Changes in Neck Pain

September 27, 2021 updated by: César Fernández-de-las-Peñas, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Electromyographic Changes in the Cranio-Cervical Flexion Test After Dry Needling of the Upper Trapezius Muscle in Patients With Mechanical Neck Pain

There is evidence suggesting that patients with mechanical neck pain exhibit higher activity of the superficial neck flexor muscles during the execution of the cranio-cervical flexion test. In addition, some studies have reported the presence of active trigger points in the neck flexor and extensor muscles. Since preliminary evidence suggests that trigger points can affect motor control behaviour, it is possible that management of these trigger points with dry needling could be effective for improving muscle activity during low-load activities, such as the cranio-cervical flexion test. Therefore, the aim of this study will be to investigate the effects on electromyographical activity, pressure pain thresholds and cervical range of motion after the application of dry needling over active TrPs in the upper trapezius muscle in patients with mechanical neck pain.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

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

    • Madrid
      • Alcorcon, Madrid, Spain, 28921
        • César Fernández-de-las-Peñas

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

18 years to 55 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Generalized neck-shoulder pain with symptoms provoked by neck postures, neck movement, or palpation of the cervical musculature.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • whiplash injury;
  • previous cervical or thoracic surgery;
  • cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy;
  • diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome;
  • having undergone physical therapy in the previous 6 months;
  • less than 18 or greater than 55 years of age
  • fear to needles

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: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Dry needling
Patients will receive dry needling over active trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle
Patients will receive dry needling over active trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle
Active Comparator: Manual Therapy
Patients will receive a manual compression for 30seconds over active trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle
Patients will receive a manual compression for 30seconds over active trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in electromyographic activity of the neck superficial flexor muscles before and after the intervention
Time Frame: Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment
Bipolar surface EMG will be recorded with pairs of electrodes positioned 20mm apart and fixed firmly with an adhesive tape bilaterally over the sternocleidomastoid, the anterior scalene, the upper trapezius and the splenius capitis muscles.
Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in neck pain intensity with a numerical pain rate scale before and after the intervention
Time Frame: Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment
A Numerical Pain Rate Scale (NPRS, 0-10) will be used to assess spontaneous neck pain intensity
Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment
Changes in widespread pressure pain sensitivity before and after the intervention
Time Frame: Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment
Pressure pain thresholds will be assessed over C5/C6 zygapophyseal joints, second metacarpal, and tibialis anterior muscle
Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment
Changes in cervical range of motion before and after the intervention
Time Frame: Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment
Active cervical range of motion will be assessed with a Cervical Range of Motion (CROM) device in all cervical motions
Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

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)

January 15, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 15, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 22, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 22, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

December 26, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 29, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 27, 2021

Last Verified

September 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • URJC3010201812618

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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