Exercise and Post-dry Needling Soreness

Effects of Eccentric Exercise, Sham or Placebo on Post-Needling Soreness by Dry Needling on Active Trigger Points

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02558686

Enrollment

Registered

2015-09-24

Start date

2015-10-31

Completion date

2016-01-31

Last updated

2016-01-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Shoulder Pain

Keywords

trigger points, disability, post-dry needling soreness, eccentric exercise

Brief summary

Application of trigger point dry needling can induce post-dry needling soreness. This is not a negative experience, but sometimes some patients want to reduce it as much as possible. Manual therapies and exercise strategies targeting to decrease post-dry needling soreness need to be investigated.

Interventions

OTHEREccentric Exercise

Individuals will perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions of eccentric exercise of the infraspinatus muscle after the application of trigger point dry needling

OTHERDetuned Ultrasound

Individuals will received 10 minutes of detuned ultrasound on the infraspinatus muscle after the application of trigger point dry needling

OTHERPlacebo

Individuals will not perform any action after the application of trigger point dry needling

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Unilateral non-traumatic shoulder pain * Shoulder pain from at least 6 months * Shoulder pain of more than 3 points on a NPRS * Presence of active trigger point in the infraspinatus muscle

Exclusion criteria

* bilateral shoulder pain * younger than 18 or older than 65 years * shoulder injury * upper extremity surgery * fibromyalgia syndrome * neck or shoulder surgery * cervical radiculopathy * whiplash * any type of intervention for the neck-shoulder the previous year

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Changes in post-dry needling pain intensity before and after the intervention	Baseline, 24 hours after, 48 hours after and 72 hours after treatment	A Numerical Pain Rate Scale (NPRS, 0-10) will be used to record post-dry needling soreness and pain

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Changes in functionality before and after the intervention	Baseline and 72 hours after treatment	The Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) questionnaire will be used to assess function of the uppr extremity related to shoulder pain
Changes in spontaneous shoulder pain before and after the intervention	Baseline and 72 hours after treatment	A Numerical Pain Rate Scale (NPRS, 0-10) will be used to assess spontaneous shoulder pain
Changes in disability before and after the intervention	Baseline and 72 hours after treatment	The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire will be used to assess disability induced by shoulder pain.

Countries

Spain

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026