J Korean Pain Soc.  2002 Dec;15(2):139-145.

Intramuscular Stimulation in Chronic Pain Patients

• Kim HK
• Kim SH
• Kim MJ
• Lim JA
• Kang PS
• Woo NS
• Lee YC

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Intramuscular stimulation (IMS) shows good results in chronic pain patients who receive no advantages with conservative treatments such as trigger point injection, nerve block or an epidural block. In this study, the utility of IMS in chronic pain patients was evaluated using VAS and infrared thermal imaging.
METHODS
Twenty patients were evaluated. They were treated with IMS for 8 weeks. Both before and after treatment, the temperature differences (delta t) of the involved area and the corresponding area on the opposite side of the body were measured using thermography, and the numerical rating scale (NRS) scores were assessed. The change in the temperature of the involved area (delta T) was measured.
RESULTS
The mean NRS scores were 8.3 and 3.4 before and after IMS, respectively. The mean temperatures in the involved area were 26.27 degrees C and 27.23 degrees C before and after IMS, respectively. There were significant changes in the delta NRS and delta T (P<0.05). The correlation coefficient between the delta NRS and delta T was 0.92 (P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
IMS is an alternative effective treatment modality for chronic pain patients.

Keyword

Chronic pain; Infrared thermal imaging; Intramuscular stimulation; Pain score

MeSH Terms

Chronic Pain*
Humans
Nerve Block
Thermography
Trigger Points