Dry Needling and Shoulder Muscle Blood Flow, Motions, and Pain Sensitivity

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Dry Needling, Shoulder Pain

In brief

Shoulder pain is one of the most common reasons people consult with their primary health care provider, and 40-50% of these patients with shoulder pain continued to complain of persistent symptoms after 6 to 12 months. It has been suggested that the presence of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) may contribute to the chronicity of shoulder symptoms. An MTrP is a hyperirritable taut band of tissue within a muscle that produces pain when stimulated MTrPs are common in patients with shoulder disorders and occur most often in the infraspinatus muscle of a painful shoulder MTrPs were associated with an acidic biochemical environment with elevated levels of inflammatory mediators, neuropeptides, and proinflammatory cytokines such as bradykinin and calcitonin g-related peptide. It was hypothesized that metabolic demands on muscle and capillary constrictions may contribute to the development of MTrPs. To date, only a few studies have examined the vascular environment of MTrPs and surrounding areas before and after dry needling. No studies have yet examined whether dry needling would change blood flow in patients with shoulder pathology. Therefore, the purpose of this pilot study is to examine the effect of dry needling on blood flow of the infraspinatus muscle using color Doppler imaging in individuals with and without shoulder pain.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT05467098

Run by

Texas Woman's University

People needed

40

Starts

2022-06-30

Expected to finish

2024-06-30

Last updated by the study team

2024-11-19

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 65. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Individuals without shoulder pain:
• Ages 18-65 and without a history of shoulder pain in the last 12 months
• absence of a MTrP in the infraspinatus as determined by palpation
• Individuals with shoulder pain:
• Ages 18-65 with unilateral nonspecific shoulder pain based on participants' self-reported pain level of greater than or equal to 2/10 on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) in last 24 hours
• non-traumatic origin of pain
• presence of at least one MTrP with referral pain pattern in the infraspinatus muscle determined through palpation.

You may not qualify if…

• systemic joint disease (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis)
• evidence of red flags (e.g. fracture, infection, tumor, cauda equina syndrome)
• cancer
• neurological disorders
• neuropathy
• Raynaud's disease
• pregnancy
• previous shoulder surgery
• repeated infection
• immunocompromised disease (e.g., diabetes mellitus, HIV, AIDS, lupus)
• inability to maintain the testing and treatment positions (i.e., supine and prone-lying) for 15 minutes at a time.
• bleeding disorders (e.g. hemophilia)
• use of anti-coagulants (e.g. Coumadin)

Where it is running

• Texas Woman's University — Dallas, Texas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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