Clinical Research Directory

Simple and Evidence-based Examination and Treatment of Shoulder Pain in General Practice

Previous research suggests that general practitioners find handling patients with shoulder pain difficult and that the current care for shoulder pain is not in line with the best available evidence (1).This project aims to assess the effectiveness, costs and implementation of an evidence-based guideline for shoulder pain in general practice.

Effectiveness of Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) and Myofascial Release in Reducing Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) in the Cervicothoracic Region

The current study is a randomized controlled trail comparing the effectiveness of IASTM and Myofascial Release for individuals with DOMS at cervicothoracic region. The trail aims to evaluate improvements in pain, ROM, and neck disability. Interventions will be delivered twice weekly for a specific duration. The primary outcomes is pain reduction, while the secondary outcomes include improved disability level and ROM. To conclude, IASTM demonstrated a significantly higher improvement compared to MFR in acute cervicothoracic DOMS in terms of pain, disability level, and ROM in all directions tested in adults.

Treatment of Temporomandibular Disorders in Children and Adolsecents

Children and adolescents are treated with routine treatment approaches for adults and one of the most commonly used treatments are occlusal appliances. The use of occlusal appliances in managing orofacial pain conditions is supported by evidence, but only for adults. However, the efficacy of the treatment approaches and any possible side-effects/impairment of mandibular growth are absent. Therefore, the aim of this project is to investigate the effectiveness and possible side-effects of different treatment modalities, such as an occlusal appliance, jaw exercises, NSAID for the conditions myalgia orarthralgia in the orofacial region in children with primary or mixed dentition.

Biomedical Signal Extraction From Symptom Descriptions: An Observational Registry Using the OpenGenome Platform

This registry prospectively collects anonymized free-text symptom descriptions submitted voluntarily by adults through the OpenGenome platform at opengenome.bio. For each submission, the system retrieves real biomedical literature from PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov in parallel, applies a constrained reasoning model operating under a strict output schema, and returns a structured biological signal report. The study evaluates the internal consistency of extracted signals, the calibration of confidence scores relative to dataset size and symptom specificity, and the distribution of biological signal categories across a large anonymous population. No intervention is assigned. No participant contact occurs. All data is anonymized at the point of collection.

The Effectiveness of CBD and CBN in the Treatment of Facial Pain and Headache of Muscular Origin

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an aqueous solution containing CBD and CBN in the management of Facial Pain and Headache of Muscular Origin. A randomized (block randomization), double-blind, two-arm controlled trial will involve 42 adult patients diagnosed with Facial Pain and Headache of Muscular Origin which is lasting more than 3 months on the basis of clinical examination. Qualified study participants will be randomly assigned to two groups. The studied group will receive tan aqueous solution containing CBD and CBN, to drink at home in the dose determined by the attending physician, while the control group will receive an aqueous solution of placebo, to drink at home in the dose determined by the attending physician during this time. Each subject will be tested on the qualification day (D0), on 20 days after D0 (D20), and then 40 (D40) and 60 (D60) days after the qualification day using electromyography (EMG), pressure pain threshold test (PPT), clinical examination and surveys.

Concentration of Receptors With Affinity for Cannabidiol and Cannabinol and the Effect on Chronic Orofacial Pain of Muscle Origin

The main aim of the presented project will be to examine the concentration of selected receptors (CB1, CB2, TRPV-1) showing affinity for binding to cannabidol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) in blood samples collected from people with chronic pain in the masticatory muscles and from people without this pain. Moreover, study participants will be examined by a qualified doctor, according to the validated and standardized international DC/TMD protocol (Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders) and the criteria included in ICOP-1 (International Classification of Orofacial Pain, 1st edition). The nature and duration of pain, psychoemotional state and central sensitization (the phenomenon of increased reactivity of the nervous system to stimuli) will be determined using validated questionnaires. The obtained results will be subjected to statistical analysis in order to check the relationships between the examined parameters.

Metabolic Exercise Testing

Exertional symptoms are the hallmarks of metabolic myopathies, supporting the concept of using functional tests when this diagnosis is suspected. Exercise increases the concentration of muscle metabolites in the venous blood supply (e.g. lactate, pyruvate, and ammonia) especially during recovery. The purpose of this study is to compare the results of exercise testing with to the data from muscle biopsy or genetic analysis.