Noxipoint Therapy Versus Standard Physical Therapy Using Electrical Stimulation for Chronic Pain

Completed · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Shoulder Pain, Neck Pain

In brief

The purpose of this study is to validate the efficacy of Noxipoint(TM) therapy on chronic pain, and compare it with standard physical therapy using electrical stimulation on patients with chronic pain. Invented by Dr. Charlie Koo at Stanford University, Noxipoint Therapy is a specific procedure with precise location, duration and intensity of TENS stimulation within the general FDA guidelines. The therapy substantially relieves general muscular/tendon pain and persistently restores the muscle and tendon function. The surface locations of nociceptors at the free nerve ending (i.e., "Noxipoints") are focused on in the stimulation therapy. Multiple clinical uses of Noxipoint Therapy confirmed the consistent efficacy of such stimulation at Noxipoints. An observational study of Noxipoint therapy within the FDA-approved use of TENS demonstrated an encouraging 93% success rate in eliminating the chronic pain, such as frozen shoulder pain, within 2-3 sessions. It is an order-of-magnitude improvement over the non-specific application of TENS and any other modalities in pain treatment. A unique neuro-immuno-signaling pathway that implicates the activation of adult stem cells, such as satellite cells in muscles, is implicated based on such a high success rate.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01578148

Run by

Pain Cure Center, California

People needed

34

Starts

2012-04-01

Expected to finish

2013-02-01

Last updated by the study team

2013-04-24

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 64. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• 18-64 years old male or female
• Having chronic pain (ICD-9: 338.21, 338.29) in the neck/upper back (ICD-9: 723.1), or the shoulder (ICD-9: 719.41)
• Pain duration over 6 months, with at least one month of history of other therapy treatments (Physical therapy, steroid injection, acupuncture, analgesic medicine, and/or massage therapy)

You may not qualify if…

• Patients with BPI Severity at its Worst below 5
• Traumatic injury from external impact force
• Pain caused by traumatic bone fractures
• History of traumatic cervical injury
• History of osteoporosis
• Pain related to systemic inflammatory conditions including polymyalgia rheumatic, systemic lupus erythematosis
• Signs of psychosomatic illness
• Severe rheumatoid arthritis undergoing active treatment including DMARD biologics
• Steroid injection on pain site within 4 weeks
• Language and/or cognitive inability to complete the assessment questionnaires
• Previous TENS for pain relief
• For safety reasons, patients wearing cardiac pace makers, implanted defibrillator, or pregnant women

Where it is running

• Pain Cure Center — Palo Alto, California, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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