Comparing The Effect of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) When Coupled With Dry Needling (DN), Acupuncture (AN) or Sham Needling (SN) on Knee Range of Motion (ROM), Jump Height and Unipedal Balance

May 25, 2026 updated by: Mohamad Karam

Comparing the Effect of Dry Needle, Acupuncture and Sham Needling When Added to Muscle Release Technique on Knee Range of Motion, Unipedal Balance and Jump Height in Active Men: A Randomized Control Single Blinded Study

Muscle tightness was found to increase injury risks. Muscle relaese techniques and needling were known to reduce muscle tightness, their specific influence on functional muscle performance remains inconclusive. We hypothesized that (1) combining needling modalities with muscle release techniques (PNF) would significantly improve range of motion, unipedal balance, and jump height compared to a sham intervention; and (2) the specific combination of dry needling and PNF would demonstrate superior functional progression compared to the acupuncture and PNF protocol over a 5-week timeframe.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Active men with confirmed hamstring and quadriceps tightness in both legs were included. Unipedal balance and jump height were evaluated using Kinetisense®. Subjects were randomly assigned to 3 groups: Group1: Dry needling; Group2: Acupuncture and Group3: Sham needling. All subjects also received PNF application after needling modality. Each participant received 1 session per week for 5 weeks.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

65

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

  • Lebanon
    • Beirut
      • Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
        • Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Physiotherapy, Saint Joseph University of Beirut

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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • moderately active men (Perform at least 60 min of any sport activity on at least 3 days per week)
  • aged between 18 and 28 years old
  • having muscular tightness in both hamstrings and quadriceps muscles in both lower limbs

Exclusion Criteria:

  • men who received any surgical, dry needling or acupuncture treatment in the last 6 months prior to the experimentation.
  • Participants who had suffered from any injuries at the level of the hips, knees or ankles in the 12 months before the study.
  • participants under anticoagulant medications or suffering from bleeding disorders.

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: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Dry needling associated to Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
Other: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with Dry Needling
This study explore the combination of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with 3 types of needling technique and their effect on Range of motion, unipedal balance and Jump height
Other Names:
  • Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with Acupuncture
  • Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with Sham
Experimental: Acupuncture associated to Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
Other: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with Dry Needling
This study explore the combination of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with 3 types of needling technique and their effect on Range of motion, unipedal balance and Jump height
Other Names:
  • Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with Acupuncture
  • Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with Sham
Experimental: Sham needling associated to Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
Other: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with Dry Needling
This study explore the combination of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with 3 types of needling technique and their effect on Range of motion, unipedal balance and Jump height
Other Names:
  • Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with Acupuncture
  • Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation with Sham

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Range of motion
Time Frame: 1 week before protocol application and 5 weeks after
Knee range of motion was evaluated using a Goniometer
1 week before protocol application and 5 weeks after

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Jump height
Time Frame: 1 week prior to the protocol application and 5 weeks after
was evaluated using Kinetisence
1 week prior to the protocol application and 5 weeks after
Unipedal balance
Time Frame: 1 week prior to the protocol and 5 weeks after
Was evaluated using Kinetisense
1 week prior to the protocol and 5 weeks after

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Mohamad Karam

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.

General Publications

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 16, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 20, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

February 27, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 25, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 25, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • USJ-2023-10

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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