New imaging study seeks to unlock the secrets of muscle pain
NCT ID NCT07322445
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study aims to find better ways to measure myofascial pain, a common type of muscle pain. Researchers will use MRI and other imaging tools to look at muscle tissue in 100 adults with neck or shoulder pain. The goal is to identify imaging markers that can track how well treatments work and predict recovery.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2023
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Adults between the ages of 18 and 80 years old. 2. History of spontaneous (non-provoked) pain in the neck and/or shoulder region lasting at least 3 months. Neck and/or shoulder pain, unilateral or bilateral. 3. Presence of a palpable myofascial trigger point (MTrP) in one or both upper trapezius muscles. 4. The participant has a Numeric Pain Rating Scale of 4/10 or more in the last one week, and the pain is reproducible by palpating the trigger point. 5. Pain localized to the area of the trigger point that is reproduced or worsened upon palpation. 6. Radiation of pain to the head, neck, or face with palpation is allowed but not required. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Age \<18 or \>80 years old. 2. Acute cervical spine pathology, trauma (e.g. whiplash) or cervical radiculopathy 3. History of surgery involving the head, neck, or shoulder girdle. 4. Presence of neuromuscular pathologies or inflammatory muscle diseases (e.g. dermatomyositis) 5. Systemic disease with diffuse body pain (e.g. system lupus erythematosus) 6. Peripheral neuropathy 7. Cancer-related pain 8. Pregnancy, coagulopathy or other bleeding disorder, fever, general/local infection at the pain site, substance abuse, or any other diseases that may account for signs and symptoms mimicking myofascial pain. 9. Contraindication to MRI 10. Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or chronic Lyme disease. 11. Use of acupuncture or changes in pain medications within 6 weeks of enrollment. 12. Receipt of Botox injection to the neck/shoulder region within the past 3 months or trigger point injection within the past 6 weeks.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Washington University
RECRUITINGSt Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
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