Myofascial trigger points may cause joint pain, headaches, and other kinds of pain so severe that it doesn’t respond well to painkillers.

Researchers at CEU-San Pablo University, in Madrid, Spain, assessed the response to burst application of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).

First, the details.

• 76 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups
• TENS group received a burst-type TENS (pulse width, 200 mcs; frequency, 100 Hz; burst frequency, 2 Hz) stimulation over the upper trapezius for 10 minutes.
• Placebo group received a sham-TENS application.
• The trapezius muscle spans the neck, shoulders, and back.
• Referred pressure pain threshold over myofascial trigger points and cervical range of motion in rotation were assessed before, and 1 and 5 minutes after the treatment.
• The evaluator was not aware of the treatment given — single blind.

And, the results.

• The TENS group experienced a significantly greater increase in referred pressure pain threshold and cervical rotation vs the control group.
• Differences between treatments were small at 1 and 5 minutes after treatment.

The bottom line?

The authors concluded, “A 10-minute application of burst-type TENS increases in a small but statistically significant manner the referred pressure pain threshold over upper trapezius latent myofascial trigger points and the ipsilateral cervical range of motion.”

10/9/11 23:46 JR