Healthy Subjects or Volunteers, People With Identified Painful Trigger Points (Tp) Within the Soleus and Gastrocnemius Muscles Complex
Conditions
Keywords
dry needling, electrical stimulation, H-reflex, motor activity, pain threshold, trigger point
Brief summary
DN is one of the most commonly used physical therapy (PT) interventions for managing trigger points (Tp). Evidence suggests that DN was equally effective as other PT interventions, compared to no treatment or Sham-DN. Electrical stimulation (ES) is also a commonly used non-invasive method for pain management during PT. Recently, several studies suggested that combining DN with ES may be more effective in trigger point release than DN alone. The goal of this clinical trial was to determine the effects that trigger point dry needling with and without electrical stimulation had on pain threshold. It would also learn about the effect the trigger point dry needling has on muscle activity in people with identified painful trigger points within the soleus and gastrocnemius muscle complex. The main questions it aims to answer are: * In terms of trigger point pain threshold, is DN combined with ES superior to DN alone, ES alone, or Sham treatment? * In terms of muscle activity, is DN with ES superior to DN only, ES only or Sham treatment? Researchers will compare dry needling with electrical stimulation, dry needling only, electrical stimulation only and a Sham treatment to see these interventions affect pain threshold and muscle activity. Participants will: * Randomly assigned as one of the four groups * Visit the clinic once for test * Receive permission and conduct intervention according to protocol.
Interventions
A dry needle inserted into the trigger point and left in the muscle for 10 min. Also, parameters of electrical stimulation were set at a frequency of 30 Hz and a pulse width of 0.6 ms, at an intensity that caused a small muscle contraction.
PROCEDUREDry needling
A dry needle inserted into the trigger point and left in the muscle for 10 min. To ensure uniformity in conditions across all groups, a placebo electrical stimulation protocol was implemented, characterized by the initiation of electrical stimulation followed by its immediate cessation.
PROCEDUREElectrical stimulation
Electrical stimulation setting is same as above dry needling with electrical stimulation group while the needle touch the skin to cause a prick over the muscle and were held there for 10 min.
PROCEDURESham
The needle touches the skin to cause a prick over the muscle and were held there for 10 min (placebo dry needling) with placebo electrical stimulation which means initiating electrical stimulation but removing it instantaneously.
Sponsors
University of Rhode Island
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
randomized controlled study
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 55 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
healthy volunteers with at least 2 ≥ identifiable trigger points in soleus or gastrocnemius
Exclusion criteria
Age \< 18 or \> 55, able to communicate in English, no medical illness, or allergies
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| To determine the effects that trigger point dry needling with and without electrical stimulation has on pain threshold | This was a single time point study. Pain threshold was assessed before (baseline) and at 10 and 30 mins post treatment. | Primary outcome measure: when subjects perceived the intensity to be 50% of their maximum pain, based on a 1-10 analog pain scale. Participants held a switch with a button connected to a Bluetooth-enabled PS 850 Data Log (Biometrics Ltd., UK) data acquisition software system, where all pain recordings were analyzed and stored. The pain threshold was measured three times and averaged. We also checked visual analogue scale (VAS). |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed