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Feasibility of Near-infrared Spectroscopy to Measure Cortical Pain Pathway (Brain) Activation During Dry Needling

NCT04170803 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: EARLY_PHASE1 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 18

Last updated 2020-07-28

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The benefit experienced by some patients when treated with dry needling,1 combined with the field-expedient nature of this intervention, make dry needling uniquely suited for the military healthcare environment. An improved understanding of the mechanism by which dry needling exerts its clinical benefits will allow clinicians to adopt more efficacious treatment strategies for Soldiers with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The proposed study will utilize functional near-infrared spectroscopy and structural health monitoring (SHM) to provide insight on the central and peripheral mechanisms of dry needling. Phase 1 will compare the cortical pain pathway response of thirty participants with non-traumatic shoulder pain receiving either true or sham dry needling. An additional 15 participants will be enrolled to receive true dry needling to determine if brain responses may be able to predict clinical improvement (responders versus non-responders) in phase 2. Since chronic pain after musculoskeletal injury is the leading cause of medical discharge from service and a primary source of disability in the U.S. military2,3, improved complementary and alternative treatment strategies have the potential to have a large impact on both military readiness and health care costs within the Armed Forces.

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

Dry Needling

The participant will undergo true or sham dry needling treatment with simultaneous monitoring using the NIRS head cap.

OTHER

Sham Dry Needling

The participant randomized to the "sham" group will undergo placebo dry needling which is functionally mimicking trigger point dry needling

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Brooke Army Medical Center

    collaborator FED

  • Army-Baylor University Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
50 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-01-08
Primary Completion
2019-07-09
Completion
2020-07-24

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04170803 on ClinicalTrials.gov