A Single Dry Needling Session of the Obliquus Capitis Inferior for the Altered Sensorimotor Function in People With Neck Pain

NCT03838224 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: H1542206264486
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 40
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Neck pain is the 3rd cause of disability worldwide and represents an enormous socioeconomic burden. It has been reported that people with neck pain, with traumatic and non-traumatic onset, have an alteration of the sensorimotor function compared to pain-free people, such as deficits in the head and neck repositioning or alteration of the body balance. It has been suggested that alterations on the proprioception of the suboccipital muscles may cause a decrease in head and neck repositioning accuracy and changes in head and neck positioning patterns. The suboccipital muscles, particularly the obliquus capitis inferior (OCI), has a greater density of muscular spindles compared to lower cervical segments, which is believed to play an important role in the proprioception. The alteration of the JPE is more often found in patients with a dysfunction in the upper cervical spine, but people with lower dysfunction can also exhibit it. However, no conclusive results on JPE have been reported with articular techniques targeting the upper cervical spine. On the contrary, positive results on this test have been observed after the retraining of the upper cervical muscles. As OCI is a deep muscle, dry needling seems to be the most appropriate passive modality of treatment to target that muscle and restore the abnormal cervical sensorimotor control. However, this hypothesis has never been tested.

Conditions

Whiplash Syndrome; Neck Pain

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Joint position error (JPE)

  Cervical JPE will be measured using a laser-pointer attached to a lightweight headband. In sitting position, 90 cm away from a target and blindfolded, patients will be requested to rotate to the right and to the left. An absolute error between the starting and end points will be calculated in millimeters and then converted to degrees. Six repetitions will be performed each side according to recommendations and the mean will be calculated.

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention follow-up and one-week post-intervention follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Change in Cervical movement sense

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention follow-up and one-week post-intervention follow-up

• Change in Postural stability

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention follow-up and one-week post-intervention follow-up

• Change in Active cervical range of motion (rotation)

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention follow-up and one-week post-intervention follow-up

• Change in Cervical flexion-rotation test (CFRT)

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention follow-up and one-week post-intervention follow-up

• Change in Smooth pursuit neck torsion (SPNT)

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention follow-up and one-week post-intervention follow-up

Study Arms (2)

Dry needling

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants allocated in this group will receive a single session of dry needling of the obliquus capitis inferior. Prior to the intervention, participants will receive information about the procedure and will be free to withdraw. The needle was shown to the participant before the intervention. Participants will be requested to lie in prone on the plinth. Participants' skin will be sterilized with antiseptic spray for the skin. The therapist will clean his hands and use sterilized gloves.

Other: dry needling

sham needling

SHAM COMPARATOR

Sham needling has shown to be a valid control method in dry needling research. The procedure in the sham group will be the same as the experimental group to guarantee the participants' blinding. Prior to the intervention, participants will receive information about the procedure and will be free to withdraw. The sham needle (same appearance/material as the true needle) was shown to the participant before the intervention to guarantee the blinding.

Other: Sham needling

Interventions

dry needling OTHER

Participants allocated in this group will receive a single session of dry needling of the obliquus capitis inferior. Prior to the intervention, participants will receive information about the procedure and will be free to withdraw. The needle was shown to the participant before the intervention. Participants will be requested to lie in prone on the plinth. Participants' skin will be sterilized with antiseptic spray for the skin. The therapist will clean his hands and use sterilized gloves. The needle will be moved up and down within the muscle, using a "fast-in and fast-out" technique. Needle insertions will be repeated 12 times.

Dry needling

Sham needling OTHER

Sham needling has shown to be a valid control method in dry needling research. The procedure in the sham group will be the same as the experimental group to guarantee the participants' blinding. Prior to the intervention, participants will receive information about the procedure and will be free to withdraw. The sham needle (same appearance/material as the true needle) was shown to the participant before the intervention to guarantee the blinding.

sham needling

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Neck pain longer than 3 months (traumatic or non-traumatic)
• Neck disability index (NDI) ≥10
• Visual analogue scale (VAS) ≥3
• Joint position error (JPE) ≥4.5º determined in the physical examination prior to enrollment

You may not qualify if:

• Previous cervical spine surgery
• Spine fracture
• Any neurological signs
• Cervical stenosis
• Needle phobia/fear of needles
• Anticoagulant medication consumption
• Pregnancy
• Known or suspected vestibular pathology
• Vertigo or dizziness from ear or brain disorders, sensory nerve pathways (e.g. BPPV).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Valencia: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Valencia

Valencia, 46010, Spain

Location

Related Publications (15)

• Jull G, Falla D, Treleaven J, Hodges P, Vicenzino B. Retraining cervical joint position sense: the effect of two exercise regimes. J Orthop Res. 2007 Mar;25(3):404-12. doi: 10.1002/jor.20220.

  PMID: 17143898 BACKGROUND

• Kulkarni V, Chandy MJ, Babu KS. Quantitative study of muscle spindles in suboccipital muscles of human foetuses. Neurol India. 2001 Dec;49(4):355-9.

  PMID: 11799407 BACKGROUND

• Mitchell UH, Stoneman P, Larson RE, Page GL. The Construction of Sham Dry Needles and Their Validity. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018 Jun 14;2018:9567061. doi: 10.1155/2018/9567061. eCollection 2018.

  PMID: 30013605 BACKGROUND

• Reid SA, Callister R, Katekar MG, Rivett DA. Effects of cervical spine manual therapy on range of motion, head repositioning, and balance in participants with cervicogenic dizziness: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2014 Sep;95(9):1603-12. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2014.04.009. Epub 2014 May 2.

  PMID: 24792139 BACKGROUND

• Revel M, Andre-Deshays C, Minguet M. Cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility in patients with cervical pain. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1991 Apr;72(5):288-91.

  PMID: 2009044 BACKGROUND

• Treleaven J, Clamaron-Cheers C, Jull G. Does the region of pain influence the presence of sensorimotor disturbances in neck pain disorders? Man Ther. 2011 Dec;16(6):636-40. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2011.07.008. Epub 2011 Sep 3.

  PMID: 21890397 BACKGROUND

• Hallgren RC, Andary MT, Wyman AJ, Rowan JJ. A standardized protocol for needle placement in suboccipital muscles. Clin Anat. 2008 Sep;21(6):501-8. doi: 10.1002/ca.20660.

  PMID: 18627103 BACKGROUND

• Audette I, Dumas JP, Cote JN, De Serres SJ. Validity and between-day reliability of the cervical range of motion (CROM) device. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2010 May;40(5):318-23. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2010.3180.

  PMID: 20436238 BACKGROUND

• Hall T, Robinson K. The flexion-rotation test and active cervical mobility--a comparative measurement study in cervicogenic headache. Man Ther. 2004 Nov;9(4):197-202. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2004.04.004.

  PMID: 15522644 BACKGROUND

• Hall TM, Robinson KW, Fujinawa O, Akasaka K, Pyne EA. Intertester reliability and diagnostic validity of the cervical flexion-rotation test. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2008 May;31(4):293-300. doi: 10.1016/j.jmpt.2008.03.012.

  PMID: 18486750 BACKGROUND

• Kamper SJ, Grootjans SJ, Michaleff ZA, Maher CG, McAuley JH, Sterling M. Measuring pain intensity in patients with neck pain: does it matter how you do it? Pain Pract. 2015 Feb;15(2):159-67. doi: 10.1111/papr.12169. Epub 2014 Jan 17.

  PMID: 24433369 BACKGROUND

• Silva AG, Cruz AL. Standing balance in patients with whiplash-associated neck pain and idiopathic neck pain when compared with asymptomatic participants: A systematic review. Physiother Theory Pract. 2013 Jan;29(1):1-18. doi: 10.3109/09593985.2012.677111. Epub 2012 Apr 20.

  PMID: 22515180 BACKGROUND

• Swait G, Rushton AB, Miall RC, Newell D. Evaluation of cervical proprioceptive function: optimizing protocols and comparison between tests in normal subjects. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2007 Nov 15;32(24):E692-701. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e31815a5a1b.

  PMID: 18007229 BACKGROUND

• Takasaki H, Hall T, Oshiro S, Kaneko S, Ikemoto Y, Jull G. Normal kinematics of the upper cervical spine during the Flexion-Rotation Test - In vivo measurements using magnetic resonance imaging. Man Ther. 2011 Apr;16(2):167-71. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2010.10.002. Epub 2010 Nov 4.

  PMID: 21055995 BACKGROUND

• Werner IM, Ernst MJ, Treleaven J, Crawford RJ. Intra and interrater reliability and clinical feasibility of a simple measure of cervical movement sense in patients with neck pain. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2018 Oct 5;19(1):358. doi: 10.1186/s12891-018-2287-0.

  PMID: 30290759 BACKGROUND

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

• Enrique Lluch, PhD

  Physiotherapy Department University of Valencia

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: QUADRUPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 29, 2019
• First Posted: February 12, 2019
• Study Start: March 12, 2019
• Primary Completion: June 15, 2019
• Study Completion: June 30, 2019
• Last Updated: August 13, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-08

Locations

ES (1)