NCT04048941

One Needle Hand Acupuncture for MSK Disorders

One Needle Hand Acupuncture (Combined) With Movement for Treatment of Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial Involving 3 Groups

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 120 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 99 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this research study is to study the method of acupuncture called one needle hand acupuncture, where a needle is placed just in your hand, in order to treat pain in various locations. Benefits of acupuncture will be studied over time to determine short and long term effects of acupuncture, and see how acupuncture may alter or modify a patient's disease process.

Detailed description

Patients with neck, shoulder, low back, or hip pain that is exacerbated by movement will be randomized 1:1:1 to receive either verum hand acupuncture at the correct location (with or without movement) or control acupuncture at a nearby incorrect location. After needling and as part of the intervention, the movement groups will perform gentle active range of motion (ROM) exercises, while the without movement group will lay on the examination table, all for 10 minutes. Immediately pre- and post- intervention, numeric pain rating scores (NPRS) and goniometer- or inclinometer-obtained ROM measurements will be recorded for the most provocative movement plane. In the physical therapy literature, within-session improvements in pain and ROM have been shown to correlate with between-session improvements.All patients will complete PROMIS Pain Interference, Physical Function, Anxiety, and Depression measures prior to the acupuncture intervention and then 1,2, 4, and 8 weeks later. Four potential treatment response modifiers will be assessed. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a strong needling sensation felt by the patient during an acupuncture treatment is called a "deqi" response and is thought to be a positive prognostic sign. In Western medicine, a local twitch response (LTR) observed during needling of muscle trigger points is thought to represent a polysynaptic reflex and has been linked to local pain improvements.Other potential modifiers include patients' underlying musculoskeletal structural diagnosis and the provider's experience performing acupuncture.

Conditions

• Acupuncture
• Pain
• Range of Motion

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	One Needle Hand Acupuncture with Movement	One needle is inserted along the radial aspect of the 2nd metacarpal which relieves pain at a distant site. Then, the subject is asked to perform a series of movements that were previously painful.
PROCEDURE	One Needle Hand Acupuncture without Movement	One needle is inserted along the radial aspect of the 2nd metacarpal which relieves pain at a distant site. Then, the subject is asked to lay quietly on the examination table.
PROCEDURE	Control Acupuncture with Movement	Control acupuncture at acupoint LI4 is performed, which should not have a large affect on pain at a distant site. Then, the subject is asked to perform a series of movements that were previously painful.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-10-08
• Primary completion: 2024-12-01
• Completion: 2025-12-01
• First posted: 2019-08-07
• Last updated: 2023-04-25

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States