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The goal of this interventional study is to test the effects of trigger point dry needling to the low back in a healthy population. The main aims are to answer:
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups a dry needling group or a sham dry needling group. The dry needling group will receive trigger point dry needling to the lumbar spine. The sham dry needling group will receive needling to the lumbar spine with a sham needle which does not penetrate the skin.
In other words, researchers will compare an intervention group and a sham group to see if dry needling has an immediate change in pain sensitivity in response to experimentally induced pain.
The intent of this study is to investigate the effects of trigger point dry needling on pain sensitivity in a healthy population. In this study, the effects of trigger point dry needling will be measured using quantitative sensory testing. This is a method of testing pain sensitivity by providing a painful stimulus and having the participant rate their response to the stimulus on a pain scale. In this way, the researchers will be able to determine changes to participant's response to painful stimuli and changes to the nervous system after trigger point dry needling interventions to the low back. This information will provide important insight as to how dry needling modulates pain.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actual dry needling group | Experimental | Will receive actual dry needling of the lumbar multifidus with a 50-60mm filiform needle |
|
| Sham dry needling group | Sham Comparator | Will receive needling from a sham needle that is blunted so it does not pierce the skin but has been shown to be valid for being indistinguishable from receiving an actual needle. |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger point dry needling | Other | Filiform needle that pierces the skin and is inserted into an identified trigger point in the muscle |
|
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Heat Thermal Pain Threshold degrees Celsius baseline and Heat Thermal Pain Threshold degrees Celsius immediately following intervention | Participants will indicate when an thermode of ascending temperatures first changes from a sensation of warmth to painful by saying "pain" and indicating the amount of pain with a visual analog scale. This change will be calculated by taking the difference between the two scores. | Baseline and immediately following the intervention |
| Change in Cold Thermal Pain Threshold degrees Celsius baseline and Cold Thermal Pain Threshold degrees Celsius immediately following intervention | Participants will indicate when an thermode of descending temperatures first changes from a sensation of cold to painful by saying "pain" and indicating the amount of pain with a visual analog scale. This change will be calculated by taking the difference between the two scores. | Baseline and immediately following the intervention |
| Change in Pressure Pain Threshold Kilopascals baseline and Pressure Pain Threshold Kilopascals immediately after following intervention | Participants will indicate when ascending pressure from an algometer first changes from a sensation of pressure to painful by saying "pain" and indicating the amount of pain with a visual analog scale. This change will be calculated by taking the difference between the two scores. | Baseline and immediately following the intervention |
| Change in baseline Thermal Temporal Summation | Participants will rate the pain associated with a series of 10 heat pulses applied to the skin on a 0 to 100 numerical rating scale with 0= no pain to 100= worst pain imaginable. | Baseline and immediately following the intervention |
| Change in baseline After sensation |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Expectations | Expectation will be assessed using a 15 point global rating of change anchored with -7= expect a very great deal more pain; 0= unchanged, and 7= a very great deal less pain | Baseline, immediately following intervention |
| Degree to which expectations met |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Joel Bialosky, PhD | University of Florida | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Florida | Gainesville | Florida | 32610 | United States |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41927194 | Derived | Rodgers L, Bruck J, Blanchard E, Bialosky J. Double-blind randomized control trial investigating immediate changes in pain processing measures in response to dry needling to the lumbar multifidus in an asymptomatic population. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2026 Jun;46:356-364. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2025.11.022. Epub 2025 Nov 21. |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D017116 | Low Back Pain |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D001416 | Back Pain |
| D010146 | Pain |
| D009461 | Neurologic Manifestations |
| D012816 | Signs and Symptoms |
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Double blind, randomized control
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| Sham dry needling | Other | A validated sham dry needle that is blunted on the end and does not pierce the skin |
|
After sensation is the term used to describe the measurement of pain that remains after a painful stimulus.
Participants will rate the pain remaining every 15 seconds for a total of one minute following the final thermal pulse in the Thermal Temporal Summation protocol (as described in outcomes 4). The numeric rating scale is (0 - 100) with "0" being no pain at all and "100" being worst pain imaginable
| Baseline and immediately following the intervention |
| Change in baseline Conditioned pain modulation | Pressure pain threshold will be assessed immediately prior to and following a pain inducing cold water bath immersion. Condition pain modulation will be defined by the changes in pressure pain threshold prior to and immediately following the cold water bath immersion | Baseline and immediately following the intervention |
Single question, In response to the pain testing, participants will be asked to indicate, "How would you describe how you feel now compared to how you expected" categorically, with "more", "less", or "expected" level of pain |
| Immediately following follow pain testing |
| Blinding | Five point scale with 1= "strongly believe the treatment is active" and 3= "somewhat believe the treatment is placebo" and 5= "do not know" | Immediately following the assigned intervention |
| D013568 |
| Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms |