Hands-On therapy showdown: which muscle technique eases shoulder pain best?
NCT ID NCT07403227
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested two manual therapy techniques—Muscle Energy Technique and Modified Active Release Technique—in 46 adults with scapulocostal syndrome, a condition causing pain around the shoulder blade. Participants received one of the two treatments over several sessions. Researchers measured pain levels, chest expansion, and neck disability before and after treatment to see which technique worked better.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Muscle Energy Technique and Modified Active Release Technique
- What this could lead to
- If one technique proves better, it could offer a more effective hands-on therapy option for reducing pain and improving movement in people with scapulocostal syndrome.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed trial with only 46 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The techniques are manual therapies, not drugs, so effects are modest and depend on the therapist's skill.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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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46 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2025
- Finished
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Oct 2025
- 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 40 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age between 18-40 yrs. * Both male and females with shoulder-neck pain. * NPRS value\> than 3. * Chest expansion value \< than 3cm are included. * Subjects with Upper Trapezius, Levator Scapulae and Rhomboid muscles tenderness. * Pain duration should be present for at least for 3 months before inclusion in the study. * Presence of 1 to 3 trigger points in upper trapezius, levator scapulae, and rhombhoids (MTrP) causing referred pain pattern with palpable taut band of muscle. Exclusion Criteria: * Thoracic outlet syndrome. * Brachial neuralgia. * Local neck and shoulder disorder. * Adhesive Capsulitis. * Cervical Radiculopathy. * Trauma or Injury around Scapular area. * Past Surgical Area. * Any cardiovascular or Respiratory pathology. * People with psychiatric illness such as depression.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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AAHAD Hospital Sialkot.
Sialkot, Punjab Province, 51310, Pakistan
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.