Changes in Surface EMG Activity After Dry Needling Compared to Sham Needling

NCT03241134 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 01N04215
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 48
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

An experimental study will be conducted to evaluate the effect of a single dry needling session, compared to a sham needling session, on surface EMG activity (signal amplitude and frequency) and pain of the upper trapezius muscle, in office workers with trapezius myalgia.

Conditions

Neck Pain, Posterior; Work-Related Condition

Keywords

Dry needling; Sham needling; Office workers; Myofascial pain; Surface electromyography

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Changes in resting surface EMG activity (amplitude, RMS) of the upper trapezius after dry needling or sham needling as assessed by the EMG Noraxon 16k Telemyo Device: EMG Noraxon 16k Telemyo

  Changes in resting EMG activity (amplitude, Root Mean Square) of the upper trapezius immediately after, 15 minutes and 30 minutes after dry needling, compared to EMG activity after a typing task, will be measured using surface electrodes placed bilaterally at the MTrP location of the upper trapezius. The change in resting surface EMG activity after dry needling will be compared with the change in surface EMG activity after sham needling. Resting surface EMG activity will be expressed as a percentage of a submaximal reference contractions of the upper trapezius (% reference contractions)

  Immediately after a typing task of 20 minutes, immediately after dry or sham needling, 15 minutes and 30 minutes after dry or sham needling

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Changes in surface EMG activity (amplitude, Root Mean Square) of the upper trapezius during a fatiguing typing task of 20 minutes as assessed by the EMG Noraxon 16k Telemyo Device: EMG Noraxon 16k Telemyo

  During the typing task, every five minutes EMG activity will be measured for 30 seconds

• Changes in pain score after dry needling, compared to sham needling, as assessed by the numeric rating scale

  Immediately after a typing task of 20 minutes, immediately after dry or sham needling, 15 minutes after dry or sham needling, 30 minutes after dry or sham needling, daily during the seven days following the treatment

• Changes in pain score after a typing task of 20 minutes as assessed by the numeric rating scale

  Immediately before and after a typing task of 20 minutes

Study Arms (2)

Dry needling

EXPERIMENTAL

A single dry needling session will be performed with the subject lying on the non painful side. After palpation of a taut band, and detection of a MTrP in the upper trapezius muscle, a trained physiotherapist will penetrate the needle into skin surface, fascia, into the muscle tissue at the MTrP location, and will move the needle up and down in multiple directions. In case local twitch responses are elicited, this will be repeated until the local twitch responses are extinct.

Other: Dry needling

Sham needling

SHAM COMPARATOR

A single sham needling session will be performed with the subject lying on the non painful side. After palpation of a taut band, and detection of a MTrP in the upper trapezius muscle, a trained physiotherapist will penetrate the needle into the skin surface at the MTrP location. The fascia and muscle tissue will not be penetrated.

Other: Sham needling

Interventions

Dry needling OTHER

Dry needling (DN) is a myofascial treatment technique, in which a thin, solid filiform needle is inserted directly into the MTrP. During dry needling, local twitch responses (LTR) can be elicited. These are involuntary contractions of muscle fibers, leading to muscle relaxation, an increase in blood flow,recovery of the muscle metabolism and thus a reduction of pain and stiffness.

Dry needling

Sham needling OTHER

During sham needling, a solid, filiform needle is inserted in the skin surface at the trigger point location, without penetrating the fascia and muscle tissue.

Sham needling

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Performing office work since at least one year
• Performing computer based tasks for at least 20 hours a week
• NRS \> or equal to 3/10
• Clinical diagnosis of trapezius myalgia
• Trapezius myalgia is work-related and thus aggravates during working day/ week
• Presence of a trigger point in the upper trapezius muscle

You may not qualify if:

• Being in treatment during the study
• Traumatic injuries/surgery to neck and upper limb region
• Signs of cervical nerve root impingement
• Whiplash injury
• Cardiovascular, neurological, life threatening, systemic and metabolic diseases
• Diagnosis of fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome
• Shoulder pathology
• Coagulation disorders
• Pregnancy

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Ghent: lead

Study Sites (1)

Ghent University

Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, 9000, Belgium

Location

Related Publications (1)

• De Meulemeester K, Calders P, Cagnie B. Exploring the Underlying Mechanisms of Action of Dry Needling: What Is the Immediate Effect on Muscle Electrophysiology? An Experimental Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2022 Jan 1;101(1):18-25. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000001732.

  PMID: 34915542 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neck Pain

Interventions

Dry Needling

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities

Study Officials

• Barbara Cagnie, PhD

  University Ghent

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 2, 2017
• First Posted: August 7, 2017
• Study Start: August 28, 2017
• Primary Completion: May 9, 2018
• Study Completion: May 9, 2018
• Last Updated: December 18, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

BE (1)