Dry Needling for Shoulder Pain in Stroke Patients

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Stroke
• Interventions: Other: Physical Therapy; Other: Dry Needling

• Registration Number: NCT03703193
• Lead Sponsor: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Brief Summary

Spasticity and pain, particularly int he shoulder region, are the most common impairments experienced by subjects who had experienced a stroke. There is preliminary evidence supporting the role of dry needling for spasticity in patients who had suffered from a stroke. Few data exists on the effects on shoulder pain. In addition, it has been shown that application of dry needling induces post-needling soreness in individuals with musculoskeletal pain. No previous study has investigated the presence and the duration of post-needling soreness in individuals who had experienced a stroke.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2018-10-06
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-10-09
• Study First Posted: 2018-10-11
• Study Start: 2018-10-19
• Status Verified: 2018-12
• Primary Completion: 2018-12-21
• Study Completion: 2018-12-21
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-12-27
• Last Update Posted: 2018-12-28

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 16

Inclusion Criteria

• first-ever unilateral stroke;
• hemiplegia resulting from stroke;
• age between 30 and 60 years old;
• presence of hypertonicity in the upper extremity;
• pain symptoms in the shoulder
• active trigger points in the shoulder muscles reproducing the shoulder pain symptoms

Exclusion Criteria

• recurrent stroke;
• absence of active trigger points in the shoulder muscles reproducing shoulder symptoms
• previous treatment with nerve blocks, motor point injections with neurolytic agents for spasticity at any time;
• previous treatment with botulinum toxin-A in the 6 months prior the study;
• severe cognitive deficits;
• other neurologic diseases,
• underlying complex medical conditions, e.g., heart conditions, unstable hypertension, fracture
• fear to needles;
• any contraindication for deep dry needling, e.g., anticoagulants, infections, bleeding, or psychotic.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Physical Therapy	Physical Therapy	This group will receive a single session of modulatory interventions targeting modulation of central nervous system.
Dry needling	Dry Needling	The experimental group will receive a single session of modulatory interventions combined with a single session of dry needling into the shoulder muscles which active trigger points will reproduce the shoulder pain symptoms.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Changes in post-dry needling pain intensity with a numerical pain rate scale before and after the intervention	Baseline, 24 hours (1 day) after and 72 hours (3 days) after treatment the intervention	A Numerical Pain Rate Scale (NPRS, 0-10) will be used to record post-dry needling soreness in the targeted area

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Presence of active trigger points in the shoulder musculature	Baseline, 72 hours (3 days) and 168 hours (7 days) after treatment the intervention	Manual palpation of active trigger points in the shoulder muscles will be conducted
Changes in spontaneous shoulder pain with a numerical pain rate scale before and after the intervention	Baseline, 72 hours (3 days) and 168 hours (7 days) after treatment the intervention	A Numerical Pain Rate Scale (NPRS, 0-10) will be used to assess spontaneous shoulder pain

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

César Fernández-de-las-Peñas; 🇪🇸 Alcorcon, Madrid, Spain