NCT03316378

Achilles Pain Block

Impact of Peripheral Pain Perception on Central Sensitization and Movement Strategies in Patients With Chronic Achilles Tendinopathy

• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2 / Phase 3
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 46 (actual)
• Sponsor: Ruth Chimenti · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 70 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to better understand how the peripheral and central nervous system interact to produce the sensation of pain and motor patterns in patients with achilles tendinopathy (AT). These findings will motivate the development of future clinical studies that incorporate knowledge about pain processing and movement strategies in patients with tendinopathy. Participants with achilles tendinopathy will receive an anesthetic injection to the achilles tendon in order to examine how reduced pain, detected by the peripheral nervous system, alters task performance and perception of pain. We hypothesize that there are factors within the central nervous system that contribute to continued pain and disability in patients with chronic AT.

Detailed description

Twenty three people with Achilles tendinopathy (AT) and 23 people without AT will participate in this single visit clinical study. Participants will rate their pain with pressure to the heel, leg and elbow, climb stairs and perform a novel task in a motion capture system, and complete questionnaires on how pain affects their daily life. All subjects will complete these measures twice, and for participants with AT they will complete this battery of tests before and after an anesthetic injection to the area of pain. This study has 2 aims: Specific Aim 1 compares measures of altered central processing in patients with chronic AT to adults without chronic pain; we hypothesize that patients with chronic AT will demonstrate signs of altered central processing, including central sensitization (lower pressure pain threshold), psychosocial factors (higher kinesiophobia), and/or altered motor control (lower ankle power during stair ascent). Specific Aim 2 determines which indicators of altered central processing persist after a local anesthetic injection to the Achilles tendon in patients with chronic AT; we hypothesize chronic AT pain is perpetuated by altered central processing that persists in the absence of continued peripheral nociception.

Conditions

• Achilles Tendon Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Ropivacaine injection	single dose, subcutaneous injection

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-01-28
• Primary completion: 2018-05-10
• Completion: 2018-05-10
• First posted: 2017-10-20
• Last updated: 2019-07-05
• Results posted: 2019-07-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated drug study