ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to measure the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the quantitative sensory testing for measuring the thermal pain threshold on myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle of individuals with chronic neck pain. METHODS: Thirty female participants were included, aged between 18 and 45 years and with bilateral myofascial trigger points, active and centrally located in the upper trapezius muscle. Two measurements with quantitative sensory testing were performed by each examiner at an interval of 1 week between them. RESULTS: We observed substantial reliability for the intra-rater analysis (intraclass correlation coefficient ranging between 0.876 and 0.896) and excellent reliability for the inter-rater analysis (intraclass correlation coefficient ranging between 0.917 and 0.954). CONCLUSION: The measurement of the thermal pain threshold on myofascial trigger points in individuals with chronic neck pain has acceptable reliability values, supporting the use of the quantitative sensory testing in the research setting and the clinical environment.
Subject(s)
Myofascial Pain Syndromes , Neck Pain , Superficial Back Muscles , Trigger Points , Adolescent , Adult , Chronic Pain , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Myofascial Pain Syndromes/diagnosis , Myofascial Pain Syndromes/physiopathology , Neck Pain/epidemiology , Reproducibility of Results , Superficial Back Muscles/physiopathology , Trigger Points/physiopathology , Young AdultABSTRACT
SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to measure the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the quantitative sensory testing for measuring the thermal pain threshold on myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle of individuals with chronic neck pain. METHODS: Thirty female participants were included, aged between 18 and 45 years and with bilateral myofascial trigger points, active and centrally located in the upper trapezius muscle. Two measurements with quantitative sensory testing were performed by each examiner at an interval of 1 week between them. RESULTS: We observed substantial reliability for the intra-rater analysis (intraclass correlation coefficient ranging between 0.876 and 0.896) and excellent reliability for the inter-rater analysis (intraclass correlation coefficient ranging between 0.917 and 0.954). CONCLUSION: The measurement of the thermal pain threshold on myofascial trigger points in individuals with chronic neck pain has acceptable reliability values, supporting the use of the quantitative sensory testing in the research setting and the clinical environment.
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Adolescent , Adult , Young Adult , Neck Pain/epidemiology , Trigger Points/physiopathology , Superficial Back Muscles/physiopathology , Myofascial Pain Syndromes/diagnosis , Myofascial Pain Syndromes/physiopathology , Reproducibility of Results , Chronic Pain , Middle AgedABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to correlate the thermal pain threshold (heat and cold) on myofascial trigger points with measurements of pain and skin temperature in patients with chronic neck pain. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. We included participants of both genders, aged between 18-45 years, with chronic neck pain (>90 days), and with active bilateral myofascial trigger point centrally located in the upper trapezius muscle. Neck Disability Index, Numerical Rating Scale, Pain-Related Catastrophizing Thoughts Scale, algometry, infrared thermography, and quantitative sensory testing were used for the evaluation. RESULTS: A significant, weak, and negative association was observed between pain intensity and heat pain threshold on the myofascial trigger point to the right (rho -0.381, p=0.022) and to the left (rho -0.334, p=0.049), and a significant, weak, and positive association was observed between pain intensity and cold pain threshold on the myofascial trigger point to the right (rho 0.471, p=0.004) and to the left (rho 0.339, p=0.043). CONCLUSION: Thermal pain threshold (heat and cold) on myofascial trigger points is associated with pain intensity in individuals with chronic neck pain.
Subject(s)
Myofascial Pain Syndromes , Trigger Points , Adolescent , Adult , Catastrophization , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neck Pain , Pain Measurement , Pain Threshold , Skin Temperature , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the intra- and inter-rater reliability of pressure pain threshold measurement on myofascial trigger points in the trapezius muscle in women with chronic neck pain. METHODS: This reliability study involved 30 volunteers with neck pain for more than 90 days. The assessment procedures were performed by blinded researchers. Two examiners, who were previously trained in the use of algometry, independently performed two assessments of the pressure pain threshold at two time intervals, one week apart. RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 30 young adult women. Excellent intra- and inter-rater reliability were found for the pressure pain threshold on myofascial trigger points, with intraclass correlation coefficient values ranging between 0.752 and 0.874, standard error of measurement ranging between 0.18 and 0.22 kg/cm2, and minimum detectable change ranging between 0.45 and 0.62 kg/cm2. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that the assessment of pressure pain threshold through algometry presents satisfactory intraclass correlation coefficient values, considering different time and examiners, contributing to the spread of the use of this tool as a quantitative method of pain evaluation in myofascial trigger points.
Subject(s)
Myofascial Pain Syndromes , Superficial Back Muscles , Female , Humans , Myofascial Pain Syndromes/diagnosis , Neck Pain/diagnosis , Pain Threshold , Reproducibility of Results , Trigger Points , Young AdultABSTRACT
Osteoartrite (OA) do quadril é uma doença musculoesquelética quem vemaumentando estatisticamente entre a população idosa e, que traz comoconsequências a redução de força muscular de membros inferiores, alterações de marcha, limitação para atividades de vida diária e déficit da qualidade de vida. A fisioterapia vem atuando na reabilitação destes pacientes, apresentando como principais objetivos controlar a dor e melhorar a função.Para uma reabilitação adequada se faz necessário uma avaliação criteriosa,entretanto, apesar da literatura atual sugerir vários métodos para avaliação de OA de quadril, não há nenhuma padronização na forma de avaliar e reavaliar estes pacientes. O que se tem usado amplamente são testes funcionais e os questionários que possibilitam a avaliação da dor e da função, tais como o Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) e o Harris Hip Score (HHS). O objetivo do presenteestudo foi elaborar uma ficha de avaliação fisioterapêutica para pessoas com OA de quadril a fim de padronizar as variáveis a serem avaliadas nesses indivíduos. Para isso, realizou-se um levantamento de dados nas bases de dados Scielo, PEdro e PubMed sobre publicações dentro da área de fisioterapia que sugerissem métodospara avaliar pacientes com tal doença. Foram considerados estudos queapresentavam questionários que permitem análise da qualidade e vida e função em pessoas com OA, testes funcionais, análise de marcha e força muscular. O resultado final foi a elaboração de uma ficha para avaliar de forma criteriosa estes pacientes.Acreditamos que a aplicação desta criteriosa ficha de avaliação irá permitir a detecção de pequenas alterações musculo esqueléticas, o que possibilita arealização de uma intervenção fisioterapêutica mais direcionada às necessidades do paciente. Sugere-se a realização de estudos adicionais que apliquem a... .
