Effects of Dry Needling on Neck and Shoulder Pain in Orchestral Musicians: a Prospective Case Series

Effects of Myofascial Trigger Point Dry Needling on Neck Pain in Orchestral Musicians

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 1Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03402867

Enrollment

Registered

2018-01-18

Start date

2018-02-01

Completion date

2018-03-05

Last updated

2018-07-06

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

Conditions

Pain Syndrome, Musculoskeletal Pain, Trigger Point Pain, Myofascial

Brief summary

This study evaluates the effectiveness of Deep dry needling of active myofascial trigger points present in muscles of the neck and shoulder region in orchestral musicians.

Interventions

PROCEDUREDeep dry needling

Insertion of a filiform needle in the active trigger point of musculoskeletal muscle

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Intervention model description

Deep dry needling

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

18 Years to 40 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Orchestral musicians * Chronic neck or shoulder pain * Presence of active myofascial trigger points

Exclusion criteria

* Fear of needles * Coagulation disorders * Pregnancy

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Visual analogue scale for pain	2 weeks	Pain measurement. 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS), horizontal line ranging from 0mm (no pain) to 100mm (worst imaginable pain).

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Pressure pain threshold	2 weeks	Analogic algometer
Neck disability index (NDI)	2 weeks	10-item, 50-point index that assesses different aspects of daily functioning in patients with neck pain. It assesses four items regarding subjective symptoms (pain intensity, headache, concentration, sleeping), four items regarding activities of daily living (lifting, work, driving, recreation), and two items regarding discretionary activities of daily living (personal care, reading). Each item is scored 0 to 5, with the total reported as either a raw score (0-50) or as a percentage score. Higher values represent a worse outcome.
Shoulder pain disability index (SPADI)	2 weeks	Self-administered questionnaire, grouping 13 questions, 5 of which measure the severity of pain caused by various arm movements involving the shoulder, the pain being assessed on a numeric pain scale ranging from 0 to 10. Eight additional questions related to functional impairments of the shoulder are assessed with a numeric scale. Higher values represent a worse outcome.

Countries

Spain

Outcome results

None listed

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