Efficacy of Dry Needling in Cervical Pain

Efficacy of Dry Needling and Ischaemic Compression of the Scapula Angularis Muscle in Patients With Cervicalgia. Randomised Clinical Trial

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05624515

Enrollment

Registered

2022-11-22

Start date

2022-12-01

Completion date

2023-01-15

Last updated

2023-03-10

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

Conditions

Cervical Pain

Keywords

dry needling, physiotherapy techniques, cervical pain, pain

Brief summary

The presence of latent myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in the angular muscle of the scapula is one of the possible causes of non-specific neck pain. Dry needling (DN) and ischaemic compression (IC) techniques may be useful for the treatment of these MTrPs. Methods: 80 participants were divided into two groups: the dry needling group, which received a single session of DN on the angular muscle plus hyperalgesia (n=40), and the IC group, which received a single session of IC on the angular muscle plus hyperalgesia (n=40). Pain intensity, pain pressure threshold (PPT), range of motion (ROM) and quality of life were assessed at baseline, immediately after, 48 hours and one week after treatment.

Interventions

DEVICEdry needling

Active trigger point puncture of the angularis scapulae muscle

OTHERIschaemic compression

Ischaemic compression at the active trigger point of the angularis scapulae muscle

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Patients presenting with neck pain * Patients presenting with trigger point activation of the angularis scapulae muscle

Exclusion criteria

* Patients who have an absolute fear of needles (belonephobia). * Patients presenting with cervical pain with radiculopathy or irradiation of pain to the upper limb.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Pain intensity	3 months	Pain intensity measured on the VAS scale with a minimum score of 0 (no pain) and a maximum score of 10 (highest possible pain endured).

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
pressure pain threshold	3 months	pressure on the sore spot measured by algometer and the unit is Newtons.
range of motion	3 months	Joint movement in the cervical spine measured in degrees using a goniometer
quality life	3 months	Measured by physical activity questionnaire. Scoring is based on patients' responses. Minimum of 0, maximum of 100 points.

Countries

Spain

Outcome results

None listed

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