Observations on the Medium-and Long-term Efficacies of Superficial Needling Therapy for Lumbodorsal Myofacial Pain Syndrome / 上海针灸杂志

Objective To investigate the medium-and long-term clinical efficacies of superficial needling therapy for lumbodorsal myofacial pain syndrome.Method Three thousand two hundred and fifty-one patients with lumbodorsal myofacial pain syndrome were randomly allocated to a superficial needling group of 1753 cases and an acupuncturegroupof 1498 cases.Seventy-threepatients in the superficial needling group and 105 patients in the acupuncture group did not complete the required courses of treatment and were lost to follow-up.The others in the two groups completed therequiredcourses of treatment and were followed up.After three courses of treatment, the clinical therapeutic effects were compared using the pain score at the end of treatment and at three and six months and one year after.Thereturn visit rates were also compared.Result There was a significant difference in the pain score (NRS score) between the two groupsat the end of treatment (P<0.01), which was significantly lower in the superficial needling group than in the acupuncturegroup, and a difference between the twogroupsat three months after.There was no significant difference in the pain score between the two groupsat six months after and no difference between the two groupsat one year after.There were no differences in clinical the rapeutic effect and the return visit rate between the two groupsat six months and one year after.Conclusion A clinical observation with a large sample shows that superficial needling has a good short-term therapeutic effect on lumbodorsal myofacial pain syndrome and is a safe and effective method, but its medium-and long-term the rapeutic effects are notgood enough.

The Diagnosis and Treatment of the Cervical Vertigo / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Vertigo is an illusion of environmental movement due to various causes, thus it is hard for medical doctors to determine the exact kind of dizziness in the final diagnosis. Recently, cervical vertigo was reported from several vertigo cases. Cervical vertigo is defined as sensation of rotation, resulting from an alteration of the neck proprioceptive afferents of the upper cervical spine. The aim of our study is to document the clinical features and the treatment outcomes in vertigo patients with myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A total of 488 patients, excluding 18 patients who received other diagnosis, were examined to investigate the reasons for dizziness. We evaluated 34 patients, who were diagnosed with cervical vertigo by questionnaire after MPS treatments. Clinical evaluations for cervical vertigo were performed on all subjects, and vestibular function tests were also performed in patients with vertigo symptoms. All patients received a total of 4 treatments including trigger point injection, physical therapy or medication, and then followed up, respectively. The symptom changes of dizziness, patient satisfaction and cervical pain were checked before and treatment 1, 2, 4 times by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score. RESULTS: There were significant improvement in the VAS score of dizziness, patient satisfaction and cervical pain after treatment for MPS. CONCLUSION: Treatment for MPS could improve dizziness in cervical vertigo with MPS patients, but further study is needed to clearly confirm the cervical vertigo with MPS for improving patient's quality of life.

Concentration of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in the Pelvic Floor Muscles: An Experimental Comparative Rat Model

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to explore non-steroid anti-inflammation drugs (NSAIDs) potency for pelvic floor muscle pain by measuring local concentration in a rat model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used nine NSAIDs, including nabumetone, naproxen, ibuprofen, meloxicam, piroxicam, diclofenac potassium, etodolac, indomethacin, and sulindac, and 9 groups of female Wister rats. Each group of rats was fed with one kind of NSAID (2 mg/mL) for three consecutive days. Thereafter, one mL of blood and one gram of pelvic floor muscle were taken to measure drug pharmacokinetics, including partition coefficient, lipophilicity, elimination of half-life (T1/2) and muscle/plasma converting ratio (Css, muscle/Css, plasma). RESULTS: Diclofenac potassium had the lowest T1/2 and the highest mean Css, muscle/Css, plasma (1.9 hours and 0.85+/-0.53, respectively). The mean Css, muscle/Css, plasma of sulindac, naproxen and ibuprofen were lower than other experimental NSAIDs. CONCLUSION: Diclofenac potassium had the highest disposition in pelvic floor muscle in a rat model. The finding implies that diclofenac potassium might be the choice for pain relief in pelvic muscle.

Intramuscular Hemangioma Mimicking Myofascial Pain Syndrome: A Case Report

Intramuscular hemangioma, an infrequent but important cause of musculoskeletal pain, is often difficult to establish the diagnosis clinically. This report describes a case of a 32-yr-old woman who presented with severe left calf pain for 10 yr. Initial conservative treatments consisting of intramuscular electrical stimulation, herb medication, acupuncture, and intramuscular lidocaine injection under the diagnosis of myofascial pain syndrome in other facilities, failed to alleviate the symptoms. On physical examination, there was no motor weakness or sensory change. Conventional radiography of the leg revealed a soft tissue phlebolith. Conventional angiography study showed hemangioma. Intramuscular hemangioma within the soleus muscle was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging. Following surgical excision of the hemangioma, the patient's symptom resolved completely. Intramuscular hemangioma is a rare cause of calf pain and should be considered in the differential diagnosis if a patient with muscle pain, particularly if associated with a soft tissue mass, fails to respond to conservative treatment.

The Abdominal Pain Caused by a Trigger Point in the Rectus Abdominis: A case report / 대한마취과학회지

Three cases of the abdominal pain, which are derived from the rectus abdominis, were presented. The abdominal pains of unknown origin are frequently misdiagnosed as arisen from visceral sources. That brings inappropriate diagnostic tests and unsatisfactory treatments. If patients have no intraabdominal cause, we must pay attention to the possibility that patients with abdominal pain may suffer from this presumed nerve entrapment syndrome or myofacial pain syndrome. Rectus abdominis syndrome is causes by entrapment of an anterior cutaneous branch of one or more thoracic intercostal nerves. Myofacial pain syndrome is defined as the sensory, motor and autonomic symptoms caused by the myofacial trigger points. The authors report three cases of abdominal pain caused by trigger point in the rectus abdominis muscle. On physical examination, trigger points in the rectus abdominis muscle were found, and abdominal pain was successfully treated by trigger point injections.

Otalgia Caused by a Trigger Point in the Sternocleidomastoid Muscle: A case report / 대한마취과학회지

Myofascial pain syndrome is defined as the sensory, motor and autonomic symptoms caused by the myofascial trigger points. The sternocleidomastoid muscle is a complex muscle that frequently contains multiple trigger points. These trigger points cause symptoms that are easily misdiagnosed as other conditions. Earache of unexplained origin is likely to be caused by trigger points in the clavicular division of the sternocleidomastiod muscle. The authors report a case of earache caused by a trigger point in the sternocleidomastoid muscle. A 34 year-old woman had earache without any history of trauma or infection. The patient did not have any abnormal finding by otolaryngologic testing, except for an earache, which had not subsided. On physical examination, trigger points in the clavicular division of the sternocleidomastiod muscle were found, and the earache was successfully treated by trigger point injections.