Treatment of myofascial pain.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of ultrasound treatment and trigger point injections in combination with neck-stretching exercises on myofascial trigger points of the upper trapezius muscle.

DESIGN: Depression and anxiety associated with chronic pain were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS). The study population comprised 102 patients who had myofascial trigger points in one side of the upper trapezius. The patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: group 1 received ultrasound therapy to trigger points in conjunction with neck-stretching exercises; group 2 received trigger point injections and performed neck-stretching exercises; and group 3, the control group, performed neck-stretching exercises only. Treatment effectiveness was assessed using subjective pain intensity (PI) with a visual analog scale, pressure pain threshold (PT) with algometry, and range of motion (with a goniometer) of the upper trapezius muscle.

RESULTS: Compared with the control group, patients in groups 1 and 2 had a statistically significant reduction in PI, an increase in PT, and an increase in range of motion. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment groups 1 and 2. Although not statistically significant, patients in the control group had better results at the 3-mo follow-up. The BDI scores indicated depression in 22.9% of the patient, with 4.8% of the patients having severe depression. High anxiety scores on the TMAS were present in 89.3% of the patients. When BDI and TMAS scores were compared with PI or PT levels, no significant correlations were found, but when compared with pain duration before treatment, correlations were significant.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with myofascial pain syndrome had higher scores for anxiety than for depression. When combined with neck stretching exercises, ultrasound treatment and trigger point injections were found to be equally effective.