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Trigger Point Injection in Reducing Pain Following Total Knee Arthroplasty

Trigger Point Injection in Reducing Pain Following Total Knee Arthroplasty

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06955923
Enrollment
11
Registered
2025-05-02
Start date
2025-05-30
Completion date
2025-08-26
Last updated
2026-02-12

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

Conditions

Trigger Point Pain, Myofascial

Brief summary

This study will evaluate the ability of trigger point injections completed immediately following a total knee arthroplasty decrease pain scores and opioid use compared to sham injections. Given the current state of opioid dependency in the United States there needs to be a more focused attempt at treating post-operative pain without use of opioids. Given the manipulation of soft tissue during a total knee arthroplasty there seems to be a high correlation with pain and myofascial pain syndrome. This study will include an experimental (trigger point injection) and control (sham injection) group who are all undergoing a total knee arthroplasty. This is a pilot study that will include a maximum of 100 total patients (although it is planned for the study to be much smaller with a planned 10-15 patients per group). The procedure that will be completed is a trigger point injection with use of 1% lidocaine without epinephrine along the distal aspect of the vastus medialis and lateralis, proximal aspect of the medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscle bellies. The sham injection will be completed by pressing the needle against the skin without injecting any fluid. There will be a "blind" between the patient and the needle with both arms of the study. These patients will be followed up on POD1, and during weeks 2 and 6 follow-up where they will be given questionnaires to assess pain (visual analogue scale) and opioid use, and asked to bring their opioid medications to the clinic to assess the morphine milligrams equivalent (MME).

Interventions

A trigger point injection utilizing lidocaine 1% without epinephrine will be injected into several muscles bellies immediately following surgery to halt a trigger point from forming. One group will receive this type of intervention and the sham group will not receive any type of injection.

OTHERSham Comparator

This arm of the study will not receive any injection.

Sponsors

David Grant U.S. Air Force Medical Center
Lead SponsorFED

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* Aged 45 years or older * Planned to undergo primary total knee arthroplasty * Able to speak, read, and understand English * Willing to complete a study questionnaires * Willing to bring in their medications to be counted * DoD beneficiaries * No allergy to lidocaine * Not fearful of needles.

Exclusion criteria

* Chronic opioid users (daily use of prescribed opioids for at least 90 days) * Diagnosed with Fibromyalgia * Non-English speaking * Unable to read English * Unable to understand English * Pregnant * Allergy to lidocaine * Not willing to complete study questionnaires * Not willing to bring in their medications to be counted * Not a DoD beneficiary * Fearful of needles

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pain Scores on the Visual Analog ScaleFrom enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks1\. Change in Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain scores The VAS is a numbered scale assessing pain severity using a number which describes the average level of pain since being discharged. Participants are to put a hash mark "/" on a numbered scale ranging from 0-100. Zero (0) is no pain and 100 is severe intolerable pain

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Opioid UseFrom enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks1\. Compare the total opioid use between study groups (experimental, sham comparator). Opioid use will be measured during their inpatient stay using the Medication Administration Record (MAR) Summary in the electronic medical record; and completing an Opioid Use questionnaire and counting the number of pills remaining during post-operative/follow-up study visits. Inpatient opioid use will be calculated by using the morphine dosage and number of doses per day. Outpatient opioid use will be obtained by reviewing responses to the Opioid Use questionnaire and counting the number of pills remaining from the prescription given at the time of discharge. Participants will be asked to bring their medication (opioids) to their post-operative/follow-up study visits. This method will allow the investigator to measure total opioid use (injectable and pill) during their inpatient and outpatient course.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDustin L Bennett

David Grant

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
4 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
3 Participants
BMI33.84 kg/m^2
STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.29
Number of Participants who are Military Retired or Military Dependents
Dependents
1 Participants
Number of Participants who are Military Retired or Military Dependents
Retired
3 Participants
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected0 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
1 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
5 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 60 / 5
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 60 / 5
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 60 / 5

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 13, 2026