Ann Rehabil Med.  2017 Aug;41(4):582-588. 10.5535/arm.2017.41.4.582.

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy Versus Trigger Point Injection in the Treatment of Myofascial Pain Syndrome in the Quadratus Lumborum

• Hong JO
• Park JS
• Jeon DG
• Yoon WH
• Park JH

• KMID: 2389403
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5535/arm.2017.41.4.582

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To compare the effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) and trigger point injection (TPI) for the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome in the quadratus lumborum.
METHODS
In a retrospective study at our institute, 30 patients with myofascial pain syndrome in the quadratus lumborum were assigned to ESWT or TPI groups. We assessed ESWT and TPI treatment according to their affects on pain relief and disability improvement. The outcome measures for the pain assessment were a visual analogue scale score and pain pressure threshold. The outcome measures for the disability assessment were Oswestry Disability Index, Roles and Maudsley, and Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale scores.
RESULTS
Both groups demonstrated statistically significant improvements in pain and disability measures after treatment. However, in comparing the treatments, we found ESWT to be more effective than TPI for pain relief. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups with respect to disability.
CONCLUSION
Compared to TPI, ESWT showed superior results for pain relief. Thus, we consider ESWT as an effective treatment for myofascial pain syndrome in the quadratus lumborum.

Keyword

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy; Myofascial pain syndromes; Trigger point injection; Quadratus lumborum

MeSH Terms

Back Pain
Humans
Myofascial Pain Syndromes*
Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
Pain Measurement
Quebec
Retrospective Studies
Shock*
Trigger Points*

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Comparison of primary and secondary outcome measure scores in the ESWT and TPI groups. The squares and solid lines show results for the ESWT group, while the rounds and dotted lines represent results for the TPI group. ESWT, extracorporeal shock wave therapy; TPI, trigger point injection; VAS, visual analogue scale; PPT, pain pressure threshold; ODI, Oswestry Disability Index; RM score, Roles and Maudsley Score; QBS, Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale. Significant differences a)between pre-treatment and post-treatment and b)between pretreatment and the 1 month follow-up.

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