Dry Needling at the Thoracolumbar Junction on Measures of Sympathetic Outflow and Flexibility
Completed · Not applicable · Has a placebo group
Conditions studied: Low Back Pain
In brief
Dry needling (DN) is becoming more frequently performed by physical therapists around the world to treat musculoskeletal pain. Dry needling is a form of trigger point therapy that evolved from using injections of local anesthetics. Although dry needling is becoming more commonly used, there is little agreement on how it works. Researchers have focused their efforts investigating other forms of manual therapy until very recently. To date, no studies have looked at how dry needling effects muscles distant from the area being treated. Most of the body's sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) is located in the thoracic spine, it may be a "silent" contributor to musculoskeletal problems in the arms and legs. The purpose of this study is to determine how dry needling the thoracolumbar junction affects pain, flexibility, and other non-invasive measures of nervous system output in people who have low back pain and tightness of their hamstring muscles. Standard dry needling treatment will be compared with a placebo. The investigators hypothesize that dry needling will have a greater sympathetic nervous system response, as measured by changes in heart rate, skin temperature and skin conductance, when compared with the placebo. The investigators also hypothesize that dry needling will have a greater positive effect on flexibility of the low back and hamstring muscles when compared to the placebo.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT03630172
- Run by
- Nova Southeastern University
- People needed
- 54
- Starts
- 2018-09-15
- Expected to finish
- 2019-08-10
- Last updated by the study team
- 2019-08-28
Who can join
Age: 18 and older, up to 70. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.
You may qualify if…
- Low Back Pain
- decreased flexibility greater than or equal to 15 degrees of at least one hamstring, as measured by KE
- Age 18-70 years
You may not qualify if…
- Local skin lesion, local or systemic infection
- Previous treatment of DN to any body part
- History of abnormal bleeding
- Presence of radicular symptoms
- Prescription anticoagulant therapy
- Autoimmune disease, central nervous system disorder, or diabetes
- Previous surgery to lumbar spine
- Inability to read and understand English, or cognitive impairment that would limit the ability to give consent.
- Pregnancy
- BMI greater than 30 kg/m2
Where it is running
- Sports and Orthopaedic Therapy Services, LLC — Kensington, Maryland, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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