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Clinical Study of Myofascial Trigger Points(MTrPs) Injection in the Treatment of Chronic Migraine

Clinical Study of Myofascial Trigger Points(MTrPs) Injection in the Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain(CMP), Chronic Migraine and Cervicogenic Headache

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07347067
Enrollment
1036
Registered
2026-01-16
Start date
2025-12-01
Completion date
2027-06-01
Last updated
2026-01-16

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

Conditions

Chronic Migraine Headache, Greater Occipital Nerve Block, Myofascial Trigger Points

Brief summary

Chronic migraine is a common disease in China, with a high incidence among the elderly, and has a significant impact on patients' quality of life. Currently, both domestic and international studies have confirmed that glucocorticoid injection at myofascial trigger points(MTrPs) can alleviate patients' pain symptoms. MTrPs injection is safe and easy to operate, and can improve the clinical management efficiency of patients with chronic migraine. Therefore, we designed a prospective, randomized controlled, blinded outcome, non-inferiority study to compare the long-term clinical efficacy of glucocorticoid injection at myofascial trigger points and greater occipital nerve block injection in treating chronic migraine. Patients will be randomly divided into two groups and receive either glucocorticoid injection at MTrPs or greater occipital nerve. After treatment, patients will be followed up for 2 years. Their NRS scores, attack frequency, attack duration, HIT-6 scores, Patient Global Impression of Change(PGIC) scale, and adverse reactions will be recorded at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks. If the results indicate that the clinical efficacy of myofascial trigger point injection for chronic migraine is not inferior to that of injection at intra-articular injection, it will provide a safe and simple treatment option that is easy to promote for patients who do not respond to conservative treatment.

Interventions

The volume of infiltration solution is determined by the number of trigger points, with each trigger point receiving 1 mL of injection volume. The injection solution is prepared by combining 1 mL of triamcinolone acetonide (40 mg/mL), lidocaine, and normal saline, resulting in a final lidocaine concentration of 1%. A 25-gauge needle is used to inject perpendicular to the skin surface at the selected tender points, with the solution administered as a single bolus into each tender point within 10 seconds.

PROCEDUREGreater occipital nerve block group

Patients in the nerve block group received ultrasound-guided bilateral greater occipital nerve blocks. The injection solution was prepared with 1 ml of 2% lidocaine and 1 ml of triamcinolone acetonide (40 mg/mL), administered at a volume of 1 ml per side.

Sponsors

Beijing Tiantan Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Diagnosed with migraine by at least two pain specialists or neurologists; * Disease duration of at least 3 months; * Age between 18 and 65 years; * Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) score ≥ 3 despite conservative pharmacological treatment; * Signed informed consent form.

Exclusion criteria

* History of allergy to trial medications such as corticosteroids; * Alcohol abuse; long-term use of opioids (exceeding 2 weeks or more than 3 days per week for over 1 month); suspected use of sedative or analgesic medications; patients on long-term steroid therapy; * Severe neurological disorders, significant hepatic or renal dysfunction, heart failure, coagulation abnormalities, gastric ulcer, diabetes, inflammatory rheumatic diseases, etc.; * Inability to use pain assessment scales; * Presence of local or systemic infection; * Pregnant or lactating patients.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
NRS pain scoresat the 4-weeksThe pain intensity of the migraine will be measured based on NRS, where 0 represents no pain and 10 represents worst pain imaginable.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
NRS pain scoresat the 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeksThe pain intensity of the migraine will be measured based on NRS, where 0 represents no pain and 10 represents worst pain imaginable.
Attack frequency and durationat the 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeksThe frequency of migraine attack and its duration
The Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scaleat the 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeksThe Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scale is a patient-rated instrument used to evaluate overall change in status following treatment. It employs a 7-point Likert scale (1 = "very much worse" to 7 = "very much improved"), focusing on the patient's subjective perception of symptoms, function, and quality of life. The evaluation criterion defines a score of 5 or higher as indicative of "improvement" (mild/moderate/marked), a score of 4 as "no change," and scores of 3 or below as "worsening."
Adverse ReactionsThrough study completion, an average of 1 yearAny systemic adverse reactions related to corticosteroids such as hyperglycemic reactions, infection and bleeding at the puncture site.

Countries

China

Contacts

CONTACTFang Luo
13611326978@163.com+86 13611326978

Outcome results

None listed

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