About this trial
The investigators are doing this study to see if a treatment called dry needling improves muscle spasticity (muscle tightness) in people who have Multiple Sclerosis. Dry needling involves using tiny needles, like those in acupuncture, to target some muscles, like calf muscles. It differs from traditional acupuncture as it focuses on treating or managing muscle spots, aiming to reduce muscle stiffness and pain. Dry needling may offer a minimally-invasive and medication-free approach to improve muscle spasticity. The investigators hope to see if dry needling also helps enhance balance and walking abilities. This might provide potential improvements inoverall mobility and balance.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
Age 18 to 64 years
Clinical diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis based on the McDonald Criteria
Spasticity in their lower legs
Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS) score of 5 or below
Disqualifiers
Inability to communicate effectively with study personnel
Needle phobia
Severe varicose veins
Presence of an active implanted device
Trial design
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Dry needling
DeviceThe dry needling technique will employ in the current proposed study follows the standard technique for needling patients with spasticity
Sham dry needling
DeviceIn the control group, The investigators will use the methods proposed by Cushman et al. to apply sham dry needling (DN) to our participants
Treatment groups
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
Spasticity
Spasticity will be assessed through the Modified Ashworth scale (Scored between 0 to 4, with higher scores show higher level of spasticity)
Sponsors and contacts
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