Trigger Point Dry Needling With and Without Electrical Stimulation in Healthy Subjects

Effect of Electrical Stimulation With Trigger Point Dry Needling on Pain and H-Reflex Muscle Activity

DN is one of the most commonly used physical therapy (PT) interventions for managing trigger points (Tp). Evidence suggests that DN was equally effective as other PT interventions, compared to no treatment or Sham-DN. Electrical stimulation (ES) is also a commonly used non-invasive method for pain management during PT. Recently, several studies suggested that combining DN with ES may be more effective in trigger point release than DN alone. The goal of this clinical trial was to determine the effects that trigger point dry needling with and without electrical stimulation had on pain threshold. It would also learn about the effect the trigger point dry needling has on muscle activity in people with identified painful trigger points within the soleus and gastrocnemius muscle complex. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• In terms of trigger point pain threshold, is DN combined with ES superior to DN alone, ES alone, or Sham treatment?
• In terms of muscle activity, is DN with ES superior to DN only, ES only or Sham treatment? Researchers will compare dry needling with electrical stimulation, dry needling only, electrical stimulation only and a Sham treatment to see these interventions affect pain threshold and muscle activity.

Participants will:

• Randomly assigned as one of the four groups
• Visit the clinic once for test
• Receive permission and conduct intervention according to protocol.

Inclusion Criteria: healthy volunteers with at least 2 ≥ identifiable trigger points in soleus or gastrocnemius

Exclusion Criteria:

Age < 18 or > 55, able to communicate in English, no medical illness, or allergies