Bilateral Knee Pain and Dry Needling

Summary

This project will evaluate the effects of bilateral knee pain and dry needling (DN) on laterality recognition, movement and muscle function. The objective is to determine if laterality recognition accuracy deficits are present in individuals with bilateral chronic knee pain and if DN affects 'central' and 'peripheral' musculoskeletal measurements. Chronic musculoskeletal pain results in changes to the way the brain perceives pain and left-right discrimination between body parts. This phenomenon has been established for individuals with chronic back pain and chronic regional pain syndrome, but has not been described for individuals with bilateral knee pain without the presence of knee OA. Dry needling involves the insertion of a small diameter monofilament needle into muscle, and has been purported to affect the neuromuscular system both centrally and peripherally. Sixty individuals between 18 and 40 years old will be recruited and allocated into three groups. The first group will consist of 20 subjects presenting with bilateral chronic anterior knee pain and high fear of movement with scores on Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale (fear of movement) greater than 37. The second group with consist of 20 subjects with bilateral chronic anterior knee pain and low fear of movement between ages of 18 and 40 years old, and the third group will consist of healthy controls without knee pain between 18 and 40 years old. All subjects will undergo baseline testing consisting of laterality recognition, movement analysis, muscle force production, and ultrasound imaging. Subjects will undergo laterality recognition testing using the Neuro Orthopaedic Institute (NOI) Recognise Knee phone application. 2D video analysis of the lateral step down test will be performed followed by peak isometric force production assessment of knee extension and flexion. Muscle function of the vastus medialis will be measured with ultrasound imaging where cross-sectional area and other measurements (tendon length, muscle thickness, etc) will be captured with Lumify ultrasound imaging transducer. Then DN to the quadriceps will be performed. After DN procedure, subjects will undergo aforementioned measurements from baseline testing. Testing will require only one appointment by the subject, which will last approximately 2 hours an include baseline testing, dry needling, and post testing. No follow up will occur afterwards.

Conditions

• Patellofemoral Pain

Interventions

DEVICE

Dry needling

Dry needling will be performed by licensed physical therapists who are formally trained in dry needling and meet all of the requirements of the state of Ohio and agree to participate as key personnel in this study. These therapists will receive specialized training in the study protocol including appropriate documentation, standardized dry needling technique/procedures, and study communication. Dry needling will be performed in a clean field using sterile acupuncture needles of appropriate length to pierce muscle bellies based on patient size and muscle mass.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ohio State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Matthew S Briggs, DPT, PhD · Ohio State University

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-07-21

Primary Completion

2028-07-21

Completion

2030-07-21

FDA Device

Yes

Countries

• United States

Study Locations