---
title: Reduce lower extremity muscle stiffness
nct_id: NCT05884944
phase: NA
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: New York Institute of Technology
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT05884944"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05884944"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:06:31.716Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Reduce lower extremity muscle stiffness

**Goal (in five words):** Reduce lower extremity muscle stiffness

**Official Title:** Effects Of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine(OMM) On Lower Extremity Muscle Characteristics In Parkinson's Disease(PD) Patients

**Trial ID:** [NCT05884944](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05884944)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** NA
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** New York Institute of Technology
- **Target Enrollment:** 20 participants
- **Start Date:** 2023-07-06
- **Completion Date:** 2025-12
- **Conditions:** Parkinson Disease, Osteopathy in Diseases Classified Elsewhere
- **Interventions:** Sham- Light touch, not reaching restrictive barrier, Experimental: Interventional Group- OMM- Muscle energy
- **Intervention Types:** PROCEDURE

## Summary For Families

Aiming to see if osteopathic manipulative medicine, specifically muscle energy techniques, can reduce lower‑extremity muscle stiffness and improve leg pain, cramping, or gait problems in people with Parkinson's. The treatment asks patients to make gentle, active muscle contractions against the practitioner's resistance to relax and lengthen tight muscles, and outcomes are measured with a MyotonPRO device and gait tests; it is compared to a sham light touch that avoids the restrictive barrier, and as a hands‑on therapy it does not directly change medications like levodopa. Seeking adults 18 and older with a neurologist diagnosis of Parkinson's at Hoehn and Yahr stage 2 to 4 who can lie supine and prone for measurements, walk for gait testing, and have PD‑related leg symptoms. People with other neurologic conditions affecting tone or walking, non‑PD gait disorders, or severe muscle fasciculations are excluded.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 18 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

* Clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease as per a neurologist, a severity of 2-4 on the Hoehn and Yahr (H-Y) Scale
* Able to receive OMM
* Able to be in a supine and prone position for MyotonPRO measurements
* Able to ambulate for gait measurements
* Have musculoskeletal complaints of leg pain/cramping or gait abnormalities due to their PD

Exclusion Criteria:

* Presence of severe fasciculations based on clinical judgment due to interference with measurements
* Gait disorders not attributed to PD
* Presence of other medical neurologic diagnoses that can affect outcome measures such as muscle tone/stiffness and ambulation (ie stroke, multiple sclerosis)
```

## Locations (1)

- NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York, United States _(40.7887, -73.5996)_
  - Sheldon Yao, DO — (CONTACT) — 516-686-1300 — sheldon.yao@nyit.edu

## Central Contacts

- Sheldon Yao, DO — (CONTACT) — 516-686-1300 — syao@nyit.edu

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT05884944*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT05884944*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05884944*