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Effect of Vibro-tactile Stimulation Intensity on Head Posture in Cervical Dystonia

NCT07245615 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 50

Last updated 2026-04-16

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The primary goal of this clinical trial is to examine the effects of cervical vibrotactile stimulation intensity on abnormal head posture in people with cervical dystonia. The main question is: Does higher vibration intensity correct head posture to a greater extent than lower vibration intensity? Researchers will compare the head posture of participants with cervical dystonia who receive different intensities of vibration to cervical muscles.

The secondary goal of this clinical trial is to examine the degree of proprioceptive impairment in cervical dystonia. Specifically, the study will assess proprioceptive impairment at the neck, wrist, and ankle joints, and seeks to determine whether the impairment improves with cervical vibrotactile stimulation.

Researchers will compare the proprioception testing results of these joints between cervical dystonia patients and age- and sex- matched healthy controls. Researchers will also compare the neck proprioception testing results of cervical dystonia patients before and after stimulation.

Participants will visit the lab once for three hours, where they will go through:

1. clinical questionnaires;
2. neck, wrist, and ankle proprioception testing,
3. vibrotactile stimulation where they sit and relax
4. neck proprioception testing

Conditions

  • Cervical Dystonia

Interventions

DEVICE

cervical vibrotactile stimulation

The intervention in this study is vibrotactile stimulation with 3 different intensities on 4 combinations of cervical muscles. The three intensity levels are 0.25mm, 0.64mm, and 1.48mm of movement range of the vibrator, when attached to the cervical area. The four muscle combinations (left and right SCM, left and right TRP, left SCM and TRP, right SCM and TRP) are selected as they were shown to be more effective than other combinations in a previous studies. The total number of bouts of stimulation is 12 (3 intensities \* 4 muscle combinations). Each VTS application is 2 minutes long, resulting in total stimulation time of 24 minutes. There will be a 5-minute break of no-vibration between each application of vibration. During the intervention, the participant will remain seated and asked to not interfere voluntarily with dystonic muscle spasms. During breaks, they can adjust their head posture for their comfort. Extra breaks will be given if needed.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • Jürgen Konczak, PhD · University of Minnesota

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
30 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-12-05
Primary Completion
2026-05-31
Completion
2026-06-30

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

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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 NCT07245615 on ClinicalTrials.gov