The Effect of Dry Needling of the Gluteus Medius Muscle in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain

NCT04498572 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2393
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 25
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The effectiveness of dry needling of the Gluteus Medius muscle in combination with active exercises will be examined compared with sham needling with active exercises in low back pain (LBP) patients.

Conditions

Low Back Pain

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• change in visual analog scale (VAS)

  assessing pain on a scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (most sever pain). Higher scores means worse outcome.

  baseline and at 3 weeks

• Change in Modified Oswestry Disability Index

  questionnaire to assess the disability level associated with LBP and includes 10 questions regarding activities likely to be affected by LBP. Higher scores means worse outcome.

  baseline and at 3 weeks

• Global rating of change

  a 15-point Likert scale ranging to assess treatment success. Higher scores mean a better outcome.

  3 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Change in hip abductors muscle strength

  baseline and 3 weeks

• Change in lumbar flexion range of motion

  baseline and 3 weeks

Study Arms (2)

research group

EXPERIMENTAL

active exercises and dry needling for the Gluteus medius muscle

Other: dry needling

control group

SHAM COMPARATOR

active exercises and sham dry needling for the Gluteus medius muscle

Other: sham dry needling

Interventions

dry needling OTHER

dry needling for Gluteus Medius muscle in combination with exercises

research group

sham dry needling OTHER

sham dry needling for Gluteus Medius muscle in combination with exercises

control group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 30 Years - 60 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Main complaint of nonspecific LBP over a 3 month period
• VAS \> 3 at baseline

You may not qualify if:

• two or more of the following signs are present on physical examination: lower extremity weakness in a myotome distribution, decreased sensation in a dermatomal distribution, altered lower extremity deep tendon reflexes, pathological reflexes, a positive straight leg raise (SLR) test, crossed SLR or femoral nerve stretch test.
• Symptoms began immediately after a significant trauma (motor vehicle accident, fall from a height) and subjects were not been screened for possible fractures.
• Physical therapy or chiropractic treatment for LBP was provided during the 6 months prior to participation in the study or are currently being treated.
• presence of contraindication for dry needling
• pregnancy
• past back or pelvic surgery

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Haifa: lead

Study Sites (1)

Haifa University, Department of PHysical Therapy

Haifa, 31905, Israel

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Cooper NA, Scavo KM, Strickland KJ, Tipayamongkol N, Nicholson JD, Bewyer DC, Sluka KA. Prevalence of gluteus medius weakness in people with chronic low back pain compared to healthy controls. Eur Spine J. 2016 Apr;25(4):1258-65. doi: 10.1007/s00586-015-4027-6. Epub 2015 May 26.

  PMID: 26006705 RESULT

• Dar G, Hicks GE. The immediate effect of dry needling on multifidus muscles' function in healthy individuals. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2016 Apr 27;29(2):273-278. doi: 10.3233/BMR-150624.

  PMID: 26406203 RESULT

• Dar G, Goldberg A. Dry needling of the gluteus-medius muscle, combined with standard care, for chronic low back pain - a pilot randomized sham-controlled trial. J Man Manip Ther. 2025 Oct;33(5):392-400. doi: 10.1080/10669817.2025.2465726. Epub 2025 Feb 15.

  PMID: 39954045 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Low Back Pain

Interventions

Dry Needling

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

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

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities

Study Officials

• Gali Dar, PhD

  Gali Dar, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Haifa

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Masking Details: participants will not be aware of the group they were assigned
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: two groups. research group will receive dry needling and control group will receive sham dry needling.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 27, 2020
• First Posted: August 4, 2020
• Study Start: October 1, 2020
• Primary Completion: July 15, 2022
• Study Completion: July 15, 2022
• Last Updated: April 22, 2024

Record last verified: 2021-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR
• Time Frame: 6 months following end of study

Locations

IL (1)