Dry Needling and Electromyographic Changes in Neck Pain

Electromyographic Changes in the Cranio-Cervical Flexion Test After Dry Needling of the Upper Trapezius Muscle in Patients With Mechanical Neck Pain

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03787706

Enrollment

Registered

2018-12-26

Start date

2019-01-15

Completion date

2021-09-01

Last updated

2021-09-29

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

Conditions

Neck Pain

Keywords

Neck Pain, Trigger points, Dry needling, Cranio-cervical flexion test

Brief summary

There is evidence suggesting that patients with mechanical neck pain exhibit higher activity of the superficial neck flexor muscles during the execution of the cranio-cervical flexion test. In addition, some studies have reported the presence of active trigger points in the neck flexor and extensor muscles. Since preliminary evidence suggests that trigger points can affect motor control behaviour, it is possible that management of these trigger points with dry needling could be effective for improving muscle activity during low-load activities, such as the cranio-cervical flexion test. Therefore, the aim of this study will be to investigate the effects on electromyographical activity, pressure pain thresholds and cervical range of motion after the application of dry needling over active TrPs in the upper trapezius muscle in patients with mechanical neck pain.

Interventions

OTHERDry Needling

Patients will receive dry needling over active trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle

OTHERManual Therapy

Patients will receive a manual compression for 30seconds over active trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 55 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Generalized neck-shoulder pain with symptoms provoked by neck postures, neck movement, or palpation of the cervical musculature.

Exclusion criteria

* whiplash injury; * previous cervical or thoracic surgery; * cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy; * diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome; * having undergone physical therapy in the previous 6 months; * less than 18 or greater than 55 years of age * fear to needles

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Changes in electromyographic activity of the neck superficial flexor muscles before and after the intervention	Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment	Bipolar surface EMG will be recorded with pairs of electrodes positioned 20mm apart and fixed firmly with an adhesive tape bilaterally over the sternocleidomastoid, the anterior scalene, the upper trapezius and the splenius capitis muscles.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Changes in cervical range of motion before and after the intervention	Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment	Active cervical range of motion will be assessed with a Cervical Range of Motion (CROM) device in all cervical motions
Changes in neck pain intensity with a numerical pain rate scale before and after the intervention	Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment	A Numerical Pain Rate Scale (NPRS, 0-10) will be used to assess spontaneous neck pain intensity
Changes in widespread pressure pain sensitivity before and after the intervention	Baseline and 5 minutes after treatment	Pressure pain thresholds will be assessed over C5/C6 zygapophyseal joints, second metacarpal, and tibialis anterior muscle

Countries

Spain

Outcome results

None listed

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