Efficacy of Myofascial Release Therapy and Positional Release Therapy in Patients with Upper Trapezius Trigger Points: Study Protocol of a Double-blinded Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Myofascial trigger points are incredibly prevalent and are a painful aspect of almost everyone's life at some point. Myofascial trigger point pain can be excruciating and severely impair the quality of life. Therefore, in patients with neck pain caused by upper trapezius trigger, this current clinical trial will demonstrate the effectiveness of myofascial release therapy and positional release therapy in improving the level of pain, neck impairment, pain threshold, and standard of life.

Methods: A double-blinded randomized clinical trial will be conducted. Fifty-two participants with active myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle will be recruited based on selection criteria. They will be randomly allocated into group A (conservative treatment + myofascial release technique) or group B (conservative treatment + positional release technique). Both groups will receive the intervention three times a week for 2 weeks. The study will use the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, pressure algometer, Neck Disability Index, and a 36-Item Short-form Questionnaire as outcome measures.

Discussion: This trial will help identify the effectiveness of the positional and myofascial release techniques in active upper trapezius muscle trigger points and their effect on physical parameters.

Trial registration: This trial has been prospectively registered at the Clinical Trials Registry-India (CTRI/2023/07/055126) on 12 July 2023.