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Efficacy of Focused ESWT and Dry Needling Among Patients With Myofascial Pain Syndrome of the Upper Trapezius Muscle

NCT07397039 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 53

Last updated 2026-02-09

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is one of the most common causes of musculoskeletal pain. Among patients with MPS, the upper trapezius muscle appears to be the common muscle that generates pain in the area of upper extremity. The main target treatment for MPS is to eradicate the painful trigger points by using treatment options, such as ultrasound, laser, and dry needling (DN). In the past decade, focused extracorporeal shockwave therapy (fESWT) has become the well-known treatment for pain relief in various musculoskeletal pain conditions. The main advantages of this non-invasive treatment modality are reducing pain, inflammation and promoting tissue healing. However, there were no previous studies compared effects of fESWT to dry needling. Therefore, the present study aims to compare the efficacy of the two treatments in terms of pain reduction and functional improvement.

Conditions

  • Myofascial Pain Syndrome

Interventions

DEVICE

Focused Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (fESWT)

fESWT will be done using an energy flux density of 0.20 - 0.25 millijoule (mJ)/mm2, a frequency of 4 Hz, and 1000 shocks per session which will be done one session per week, for a total of 3 sessions, consecutively.

OTHER

Dry needling (DN)

DN will be done by using a sterile technique with a sterile acupuncture needle, a diameter of 0.25 mm, and a length of 30-40 mm. The needle will be applied to the painful active trigger point using fan-shaped movements and the fast-in and fast-out technique until the twitching response disappears.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Mahidol University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Thitiporn Phakdepiboon, MD · Ramathibodi Hospital

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2022-12-01
Primary Completion
2023-05-31
Completion
2023-05-31

Countries

  • Thailand

Study Locations

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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 NCT07397039 on ClinicalTrials.gov