NCT03673319

The Patient Expectation in Dry Needling and Analgesia

The Influence of Patient Expectation in Dry Needling Induced Analgesia

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Alcala · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study will evaluate placebo mechanisms related to dry needling(DN) trying to determinate whether an additive effect occurs when DN is provided with an instructional set known to enhance placebo analgesia. External manipulation of patient expectation for receiving DN will be performed, in a similar way as has been already done in studies investigating the influence of expectation on spinal manipulative therapy interventions. The main purpose of this study will be therefore to determine, for the first time, how subjects' expectation about the effect of DN influences the resultant hypoalgesia. Analgesic effects of DN will be assessed using the conditioned pain modulation (CPM) paradigm, which has not been previously evaluated in relation to DN.

Detailed description

Just before DN intervention, participants will receive a positive or a neutral expectation instructional set regarding effects of a DN technique on pain perception. This instructional set will be randomly allocated to each patient. Participants in the positive expectation group will be told that DN procedure: "is a very effective form of treatment used to treat neck-shoulder pain and it is expected to reduce your perception of pressure pain". Participants in the neutral expectation group will be told that DN procedure: "is a form of treatment used to treat neck-shoulder pain that has unknown effects on your perception of pressure pain". DN intervention An experienced and trained physical therapist will provide DN to all the subjects. This researcher will be blinded to the specific expectation instructional set the participant receives. Participants will receive one session of DN treatment for the active Myofascial Trigger Points(MTrP) located at the upper trapezius muscle. They will be placed in a prone position on the examination table. Solid filament needles of 0.30 mm diameter and 40 mm length will be used. The needle will be inserted into the skin over the palpated MTrP using pincer palpation, and slowly advanced perpendicularly until it reaches the MTrP and a twitch response is elicited.

Conditions

• Neck Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	Dry needling with positives expectation	DN procedure: "is a very effective form of treatment used to treat neck-shoulder pain and it is expected to reduce your perception of pressure pain"
PROCEDURE	Dry needling with neutral expectation	DN procedure: "is a form of treatment used to treat neck-shoulder pain that has unknown effects on your perception of pressure pain"

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-10-04
• Primary completion: 2019-04-30
• Completion: 2019-07-31
• First posted: 2018-09-17
• Last updated: 2019-08-19

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: Spain