The Impact of Dry Needling on Electrophysiological and Ultrasound-based Biomarkers for Myofascial Pain

The goal of this interventional study is to determine how well dry-needling can treat pain in people with Myofascial Pain Syndrome. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does dry needling improve pain for people with a trigger point (a tender, tight spot in the muscle)? * How well can Electrical Impedence Myography (EIM), Myofiber Threshold Tracking (TT), and Ultrasound (US) detect changes in the muscle related to dry needling treatment? Researchers will compare dry needling to a placebo (a treatment that does not enter the trigger point) to see if dry needling works to treat Myofascial Pain Syndrome with trigger points in the trapezius muscle (the muscle that extends over the back of the neck and shoulders), as measured by these three outcome measures (EIM, US, TT). Participants will: * Visit the clinic twice: once to receive dry needling treatment, and once for a follow-up * Have muscle measurements taken before treatment and at follow-up * Have a daily survey to record the intensity of their pain

NCT Number	NCT07270276
Lead Sponsor	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Collaborators: Massachusetts General Hospital, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Conditions	Trigger Point in Trapezius Muscle
Enrollment	70 participants
Start Date	2026-02-01
Primary Completion	2028-03-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2028-08-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-02-24