The Impact of Dry Needling on Electrophysiological and Ultrasound-based Biomarkers for Myofascial Pain

Conditions

• Trigger Point in Trapezius Muscle

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - 80 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• Dry Needling — PROCEDURE
  A physical therapy and pain management technique where a small is inserted into a trigger point (tight, tender spots in the muscle that cause pain) and maneuvered to provide pain relief.
• Sham Treatment — PROCEDURE
  Treatment where a sham treatment will be administered which does not directly target the trigger point. Subjects will not be able to tell the difference between dry needling and sham treatment.

Study Details

The goal of this interventional study is to determine how well dry-needling can treat pain in people with Myofascial Pain Syndrome. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does dry needling improve pain for people with a trigger point (a tender, tight spot in the muscle)? * How well can Electrical Impedence Myography (EIM), Myofiber Threshold Tracking (TT), and Ultrasound (US) detect changes in the muscle related to dry needling treatment? Researchers will compare dry needling to a placebo (a treatment that does not enter the trigger point) to see if dry needling works to treat Myofascial Pain Syndrome with trigger points in the trapezius muscle (the muscle that extends over the back of the neck and shoulders), as measured by these three outcome measures (EIM, US, TT). Participants will: * Visit the clinic twice: once to receive dry needling treatment, and once for a follow-up * Have muscle measurements taken before treatment and at follow-up * Have a daily survey to record the intensity of their pain

Key Dates

Start date

Feb 1, 2026

Status verified

Feb 2026

Primary completion

Mar 1, 2028

Completion

Aug 31, 2028

Study Design

Enrollment

70 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Arms

• Experimental: Dry Needling Treatment Group
• Placebo Comparator: Sham/Placebo Treatment Group

Primary Outcome Measure

Excitability threshold tracking (TT) [ Time Frame: From enrollment to end of treatment follow up (2 weeks) ]

Locations (2)

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