Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT06472349

Structure and Function of the Upper Trapezius and Its Role in Chronic Shoulder Pain: an Investigation of Kinematics, Morphology, Muscle Quality and Activation Distribution

Prior research has explored factors influencing muscle activation, including muscle thickness, fear avoidance beliefs (kinesiophobia), and somatosensory integration. In individuals with chronic shoulder pain, various characteristics impacting symptoms and treatment outcomes have been identified, such as psychosocial factors, fear avoidance, central sensitization, somatosensory impairments, and brain morphology changes. These shared characteristics affecting both muscle activation and chronic shoulder pain may potentially modulate upper trapezius muscle activation during functional movements in patients with chronic shoulder pain. Notably, there remains a gap in the literature concerning investigations into the upper trapezius muscle's morphology and quality, fear avoidance, central sensitization, somatosensory impairments, and their interplay with upper trapezius muscle activation in chronic shoulder pain patients.

To address these gaps, this study aims to: this study aims to: 1) compare different methods of measuring clavicular kinematics using an electromagnetic tracking system; 2) establish the reliability and validity of measuring muscle thickness and fat infiltration through ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging; 3) compare shoulder kinematics, muscle activation, muscle morphology, and muscle fat infiltration in individuals with chronic shoulder pain with matched healthy controls; 4) explore the correlation between the factors that may influence upper trapezius muscle activation, including basic data of the subjects, muscle morphology, and muscle fat infiltration.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

Chronic Shoulder Pain

Age range

18 year–50 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Taipei, 11221, Taiwan

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Yi-Fen Shih, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

+886-2-2826-7340

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Chronic shoulder pain group
  • 18-50 years old18-50 years old
  • unilateral and non-traumatic shoulder pain
  • pain duration longer than 3 months
  • pain intensity more than VAS=2 during movement
  • presence 3 of 5 positive pain provocation tests: Hawkins-Kennedy test, Jobe test, or Neer's test Painful Arc, and Resistance Test against External Rotation.
  • Healthy control group
  • presenting no shoulder pain at rest or during daily activities
  • negative results of the pain provocation test: Hawkins-Kennedy test, Jobe test, Neer's test, Painful Arc, Resistance Test against External Rotation and Spurling's neck compression test.

Exclusion criteria

  • Chronic shoulder pain group
  • history of significant shoulder trauma, such as fracture or ultrasonography clinically suspected full thickness cuff tear
  • recent shoulder dislocation in the last 2 years
  • diagnosis of adhesive capsulitis characterized by a gradual and painful loss of both active and passive ROM in all shoulder planes, primarily external rotation
  • shoulder pain originating from the cervical spine by using Spurling's neck compression test
  • shoulder pain owing to the following disorders: arthritis (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis of shoulder complex), neurologic (e.g., stroke), neoplastic (e.g., breast cancer). and/or referred pain (e.g., visceral referred pain)
  • corticoid injections over the shoulder during 6 months prior to the study
  • history of shoulder and neck surgery

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

  1. Shoulder kinematics

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The scapular kinematics will be assessed, including scapular internal/external rotation, upward/downward rotation, and posterior/anterior tilt angle. Clavicular kinematics will be evaluated by measuring clavicular protraction/retraction, elevation/depression, and posterior rotation angle.

  2. Muscle activation

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The average root mean square (RMS) value collected from surface EMG and outcomes collected by high-density EMG including average root mean square (RMS) value in whole/upper/lower regions, the RMS value distribution, and position of the barycentre of RMS distribution in different humeral elevation angles and different isometric shoulder and scapular tasks will be the outcome measures related to muscle activation.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Oscillation frequency

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The oscillation frequency (Hz) of the muscle obtained from the myotonometer will represent the muscle tone

  2. Dynamic stiffness

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The dynamic stiffness (N/m) of the muscle obtained from the myotonometer will represent the muscle tone

  3. Mechanical stress relaxation time (ms)

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The mechanical stress relaxation time (ms) of the muscle obtained from the myotonometer will represent the muscle tone

  4. Muscle thickness and cross-sectional area

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The upper, middle and lower trapezius muscle thickness and cross-sectional area obtained from MRI and the upper, middle and lower trapezius muscle thickness obtained from musculoskeletal sonography.

  5. Muscle thickness change at rest and in contraction

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The muscle thickness at rest, during arm raise at 90o abduction, during 2-kg abduction, during 4-kg abduction, and the change (%) between the latter three and at rest.

  6. Muscle fat quantification

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The upper, middle and lower trapezius muscle fat quantification indicate the muscle fat infiltration.

  7. Muscle / fat fraction

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The upper, middle and lower trapezius muscle / fat fraction indicate the muscle fat infiltration.

  8. Echo intensity

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The echo intensity of the upper, middle and lower trapezius muscle obtained from the musculoskeletal sonography.

  9. Pain intensity

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The score obtained from the VAS scale and NRPS scale during the most painful movement represent the pain intensity of the chronic shoulder pain group.

  10. Disability level

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The FLEX-SF score and DASH score will indicate the disability level of the subjects.

  11. Craniovertebral angle

    Time frame: During the procedure

    The cranial-vertebral angle will indicate the level of forward head posture.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Jun 25, 2024
Registry last updated
Apr 14, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.