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Periosteal Electrical Dry Needling for Knee Osteoarthritis

Periosteal Electrical Dry Needling With no Maintenance Treatments vs. Maintenance Treatments Every Other Month vs. Maintenance Treatments Once Per Month for Knee Osteoarthritis

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05365061
Enrollment
586
Registered
2022-05-09
Start date
2021-03-01
Completion date
2024-05-01
Last updated
2024-06-12

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

Conditions

Knee Osteoarthritis

Brief summary

The purpose of this research is to treat patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) with periosteal electric dry needling (PEDN). It is also to determine the optimal maintenance regiment (i.e. maintenance treatments, one maintenance treatment every other month, or one maintenance treatment per month) required to maintain improvements in pain and function following PEDN. Physical therapists commonly use PEDN to treat knee OA, and previous studies suggest that this treatment is useful for reducing pain and improving function in patients with osteoarthritis. However, an appropriate maintenance treatment strategy to maintain these outcomes is presently unknown.

Detailed description

Patients with knee osteoarthritis will be randomized to receive periosteal electrical dry needling 1-2 treatments per week for 6 weeks (up to 10 sessions total) followed by either: 1. no maintenance treatments, 2. one maintenance treatment every other month or 3. one maintenance treatment per month.

Interventions

OTHERperiosteal electrical dry needling with no maintenance treatments

periosteal electrical dry needling

OTHERperiosteal electrical dry needling with maintenance treatments every other month

periosteal electrical dry needling with maintenance treatments every other month

OTHERperiosteal electrical dry needling with monthly maintenance treatments

periosteal electrical dry needling with monthly maintenance treatments

Sponsors

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
CollaboratorOTHER
Alabama Physical Therapy & Acupuncture
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Adult over the age of 18 years old: 2. Report of knee pain of at least 2/10 per NPRS (0---10 scale) for \>3 months 3. Report of at least 3 of the following per Altman et al. (1986) (sensitivity = 95% / specificity = 69%) 1. Over 50 Years of age 2. Less than 30 minutes of morning stiffness 3. Crepitus on active motion 4. Bony tenderness 5. Bony enlargement 6. No palpable warmth of Synovium

Exclusion criteria

1. Report of red flags to manual physical therapy to include: hypertension, infection, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, heart disease, stroke, chronic ischemia, edema, severe varicosities, tumor, metabolic disease, prolonged steroid use, fracture, RA, osteoporosis, severe vascular disease, malignancy, etc. 2. History of physical therapy, massage therapy, chiropractic treatment, or injections for knee pain in last 4 weeks. 3. History of a partial or total knee replacement on the painful lower extremity. 4. History of a surgical procedure on either lower extremity in last 12 months. 5. Two or more positive neurologic signs consistent with nerve root compression, including any two of the following: 1. Weakness involving a major muscle group of the lower extremity. 2. Diminished patella or achilles tendon reflex 3. Diminished or absent sensation to pinprick in lower extremity dermatome. 6. Involvement in litigation or worker's compensation regarding knee pain. 7. Any condition that might contraindicate the use of periosteal electric dry needling 8. The patient is pregnant.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in WOMAC Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Total Score)baseline, 6 weeks, 14 weeks, 22 weeks, 30 weeks24 questions each worth 0-4 points with maximum score of 96 points possible. The greater the score, the worse the symptoms of knee OA

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in WOMAC Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Stiffness)baseline, 6 weeks, 14 weeks, 22 weeks, 30 weeks2 questions each worth 0-4 points with maximum score of 8 points possible. The greater the score, the worse the stiffness.
Change in WOMAC Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Physical Function)baseline, 6 weeks, 14 weeks, 22 weeks, 30 weeks17 questions each worth 0-4 points with maximum score of 68 points possible. The greater the score, the worse the physical function.
Change in WOMAC Knee Osteoarthritis Index (Pain)baseline, 6 weeks, 14 weeks, 22 weeks, 30 weeks5 questions each worth 0-4 points with maximum score of 20 points possible. The greater the score, the worse the pain.
Change in GROC (Global Rating of Change score)6 weeks, 14 weeks, 22 weeks, 30 weeksGROC (ranges from -7 to +7). Global Rating of Change score
Change in Medication Intake (Frequency of medication intake during last time period)baseline, 30 weeksFrequency of medication intake during last time period
Change in knee painbaseline, 6 weeks, 14 weeks, 22 weeks, 30 weeksAverage Numeric Pain Rating Score. Higher score means greater pain

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

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