Acupuncture and Dry Needling in Peripheral Acute Fatigue Reduction

• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03448120
• Recruitment Status: Completed
• First Posted: February 27, 2018
• Last Update Posted: March 2, 2022
• Sponsor: Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
• Information provided by (Responsible Party): Maria das Graças Rodrigues de Araújo, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Study Description

Brief Summary:

Introduction: Neuromuscular fatigue is defined when the muscle becomes incapable of generating muscle power or strength after exercise or long repetitive activities. As well as, the inability to maintain optimum performance and generate maximum voluntary contractions during a physical exercise. When performing physical activity, the body's metabolic response increases proportionally to exercise to satisfy the demands of the human physiological. Part of the energy accumulated during exercise is lost to the environment in the form of heat and another part is maintained internally through the physiological control for thermoregulation. In addition, the muscle generates an electric signal important to determine its status regarding power and fatigue.

Objective: To investigate the reduction of acute peripheral fatigue induced by isometric contractions from acupuncture and dry needling techniques, compared to absolute rest.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study and experimental study, with descriptive, analytical and quantitative approach. It follows the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines. The volunteers will be gathered according to the eligibility criteria, and randomly divided in 3 groups: the control group (G1), the volunteers who will remain in prolonged rest; the acupuncture group (G2), in which volunteers will receive six needles in six acupoints in the non-dominant upper limb and the dry needling group (G3), in which the volunteers will receive application of six needles arranged in the non-dominant biceps brachialis.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Sedentary Lifestyle; Males	Procedure: Acupuncture; Procedure: Dry needling	Not Applicable

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional (Clinical Trial)
• Actual Enrollment: 45 participants
• Allocation: Randomized
• Intervention Model: Factorial Assignment
• Masking: Single (Care Provider)
• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Official Title: Acupuncture and Dry Needling in Peripheral Acute Fatigue Reduction Induced in Biceps Brachialis: Cross-Sectional Study
• Actual Study Start Date: February 26, 2018
• Actual Primary Completion Date: November 16, 2018
• Actual Study Completion Date: December 21, 2018

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/treatment
No Intervention: Control Group; The volunteers who will remain in prolonged rest (10 minutes for homeostasis plus 30 minutes of no intervention).
Experimental: Acupuncture Group; The volunteers will receive six needles in six acupoints in the non-dominant upper limb for 30 minutes.	Procedure: Acupuncture; Six needled will be inserted in six already defined acupoints along the non-dominant upper limb for a period of 30 minutes.
Experimental: Dry needling Group; The volunteers will receive application of six needles arranged in the non-dominant biceps brachialis for 30 minutes.	Procedure: Dry needling; Six needles will be inserted in six predefined points along the volunteers non-dominant biceps brachialis for 30 minutes.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures :

1. Perception of muscle fatigue [ Time Frame: 60 minutes ]
   Fatigue perception measured by Visual Analog Scale for fatigue assessment, graduated from 0,00 to 10,0 centimeters, being 0,00 no fatigue and 10,0 maximum fatigue.
2. Muscle temperature [ Time Frame: 60 minutes ]
   Infrared thermographic Imaging analysis of acute peripheral muscle fatigue.
3. Muscle fatigue [ Time Frame: 60 minutes ]
   Electromyographic activity (in microvolts) of the biceps brachii muscle to assess muscle fatigue through the median frequency (MF).

Other Outcome Measures:

1. Contraction time [ Time Frame: 60 minutes ]
   The time of intermittent isometric contractions was delimited by the number of valid contractions during each exercise

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 Years to 40 Years (Adult)
• Sexes Eligible for Study: Male
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male individuals, aged between 18 and 40 years and who are not practicing regular physical activity (sedentary lifestyle).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Are using food supplementation;
• Have joint or bone lesions on the limb to be studied;
• Have problems of metabolic order;
• Use of hormone therapy;
• Have had caffeine in the two hours before the study;
• Have ulceration or wounds in the electrode application region for electromyography;
• Show absence of myofascial trigger points in areas of dry needling technique;
• Body Mass Index below normal values or higher than overweight.

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Brazil

Laboratory of Kinesiotherapy and Manual Therapeutic Resources, Department of Physical Therapy, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE)

Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, 50670-901

Sponsors and Collaborators

Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

More Information

Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):

Antonino GB, Paula de Lima Ferreira A, Nepomuceno Montenegro EJ, Galvão de Moura Filho A, Freire da Silva AF, de Araújo MDGR. Acupuncture and Dry Needling in the Reduction of Peripheral Acute Fatigue Induced in the Biceps Braquii: Protocol for a Single-blinded Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2020 Oct;13(5):163-166. doi: 10.1016/j.jams.2020.08.001. Epub 2020 Sep 1.

• Responsible Party: Maria das Graças Rodrigues de Araújo, Professor of the Physiotherapy Department, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03448120
• Other Study ID Numbers: Muscle Fatigue, Acupunture and; UFPE ( Registry Identifier: CAAE N. 79139717.6.0000.5208 )
• First Posted: February 27, 2018
• Last Update Posted: March 2, 2022
• Last Verified: February 2022

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: No
• Product Manufactured in and Exported from the U.S.: No

Keywords provided by Maria das Graças Rodrigues de Araújo, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco:

Muscle fatigue; Thermography; Acupuncture; Dry needling

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Fatigue