Comparative Impact of Integrated Neuromuscular Inhibition Technique, Dry Cupping and Dry Needling on Mechanical Neck Pain; A Randomized Controlled Trial

July 14, 2026 updated by: Dina Al-Amir Mohamed Hussein, Beni-Suef University
This study ill include four treatment groups. Group A who will receive traditional physical therapy, group B who will receive INIT plus traditional physical therapy , group C who will receive dry cupping therapy plus traditional physical therapy or group D will receive Dry needling therapy plus traditional physical therapy . All groups completed 4 weeks of intervention.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

80

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • Egypt
      • Giza, Egypt
        • Recruiting
        • Faculty of Physical Therapy
        • Contact:

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:

  • Medically competent men and women will be included They had chronic MTrPs in the upper trapezius for more than 6 months Diagnostic criteria of being a tight band with a palpable nodule and distant pain when subjected to pressure

Exclusion Criteria:

  • subjects with previous neck or shoulder pathology (e.g., fracture, sur¬gery, inflammatory and infectious diseases), cervical disc pathology, systemic disorder, fibromyalgia, those who underwent physical therapy for at least the previous 3 months

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: Group B
Other: Integrated neuromuscular inhibition technique
The subjects receive the Integrated Neuromuscular Inhibition Technique, which consists of ischemic compression, strain-counterstrain, and muscle energy techniques.
Experimental: Group C
Device: Dry cupping
Patients in this group will receive Dry cupping therapy, two sessions per week for four weeks
Experimental: Group D
Device: Dry Needling
subjects in this group will receive Dry needling therapy, two sessions per week for four weeks
Active Comparator: Group A
Other: strengthening and stretching exercises
subjects will receive strengthening and stretching exercises

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
pain pressure threshold
Time Frame: 0-4 weeks
The pressure algometer will measure the pain pressure threshold
0-4 weeks
pain intensity
Time Frame: 0-4 weeks
pain intensity will be measured by visual analogue scale
0-4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Neck Disability Index
Time Frame: 0-4 weeks
The Neck Disability Index is a questionnaire to measure function
0-4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Beni-Suef 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 (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 14, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 14, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 14, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Beni-Suef005

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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