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The Impact of Dry Needling on Electrophysiological and Ultrasound-based Biomarkers for Myofascial Pain

NCT07270276 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 70

Last updated 2026-02-24

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The goal of this interventional study is to determine how well dry-needling can treat pain in people with Myofascial Pain Syndrome. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does dry needling improve pain for people with a trigger point (a tender, tight spot in the muscle)?
* How well can Electrical Impedence Myography (EIM), Myofiber Threshold Tracking (TT), and Ultrasound (US) detect changes in the muscle related to dry needling treatment?

Researchers will compare dry needling to a placebo (a treatment that does not enter the trigger point) to see if dry needling works to treat Myofascial Pain Syndrome with trigger points in the trapezius muscle (the muscle that extends over the back of the neck and shoulders), as measured by these three outcome measures (EIM, US, TT).

Participants will:

* Visit the clinic twice: once to receive dry needling treatment, and once for a follow-up
* Have muscle measurements taken before treatment and at follow-up
* Have a daily survey to record the intensity of their pain

Conditions

  • Trigger Point in Trapezius Muscle

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Dry Needling

A physical therapy and pain management technique where a small is inserted into a trigger point (tight, tender spots in the muscle that cause pain) and maneuvered to provide pain relief.

PROCEDURE

Sham Treatment

Treatment where a sham treatment will be administered which does not directly target the trigger point. Subjects will not be able to tell the difference between dry needling and sham treatment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Massachusetts General Hospital

    collaborator OTHER

  • National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

    collaborator NIH

  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-02-01
Primary Completion
2028-03-01
Completion
2028-08-31
FDA Device
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Companies

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 NCT07270276 on ClinicalTrials.gov