The aim of this article is to review the possible mechanisms related to the pathophysiology and treatment of myofascial trigger points with the technique of dry needling. Muscles in general and myofascial trigger points (MTrP‟s) are a major source of persistent pain (Travell 1983). Myofascial pain is often associated with MTrP‟s in muscles, tendons and fascia (Sola 1990, Simons 1999).It is char...

BACKGROUND Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a regional musculoskeletal pain disorder that is caused by myofascial trigger points. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of MPS among chronic back pain patients, as well as to identify risk factors and the outcome of this disorder. METHODS This was a prospective observational study involving 126 patients who attended the Pa...

Tufted angioma is a rare acquired vascular tumor. It is characterized by painful purplish macules that may progress to plaques containing angiomatous papules. The condition is benign; however, it often affects extensive areas of the skin, leading to functional disability of the affected limb if painful. The present report describes a case of a tufted angioma associated with myofascial pain synd...

Use of mobile phone and sending text message is a very common in today's life. While sending a text message the users need to use their thumb and other palm muscles extensively. The thumb most of the time adducted on the key pad of the mobile and use high force to type the letters. Studies in literature showed that text messaging has an adverse effect on musculoskeletal system of hand. But the ...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine whether the physical properties and vascular environment of active myofascial trigger points associated with acute spontaneous cervical pain, asymptomatic latent trigger points, and palpably normal muscle differ in terms of the trigger point area, pulsatility index, and resistivity index, as measured by sonoelastography and Doppler imaging. ...

AIM Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a frequent cause of chronic muscoloskeletal pain. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is one of the most frequently employed treatments in MPS. The aim of this study is to compare the short and medium-term effects of frequency modulated neural stimulation (FREMS) to those of TENS in MPS. METHODS Forty subjects with upper trapezius MPS were ...

Differential diagnosis of posterior neck pain is very challenging based on symptoms and physical examination only. Retropharyngeal calcific tendinitis is a rare and frequently misdiagnosed entity in various causes of neck pain. It results from calcium hydroxyapatite deposition in the longus colli muscle which is characterized by severe neck pain, painful restriction of neck movement, dysphagia,...

Painful rib syndrome EDITOR,-The painful rib syndrome recently described by Scott and Scott is, in my opinion, a misnomer. Over the years I have seen numerous cases similar to the ones they report, and have found that the tender spots they allude to are not in the ribs but in the muscles. They are, in fact, myofascial trigger points. Pain develops because of trauma induced activation ofnocicept...

Anatomical variations in the musculature of the spine have the potential to cause functional and postural abnormalities, which in turn could lead to chronic myofascial and skeletal pain. We present a unilateral case of a 71-year-old Caucasian female in which the left levator scapulae muscle gave rise to an accessory head that inserted, by way of a flat aponeurotic band, to the ligamentum nuchae...

background: lateral epicondylitis, also known as tennis elbow, is the most common overuse syndrome of the elbow. the severity of pain may not be directly caused by tendinopathy of wrist extensors since trigger points of the shoulder muscles have a referral zone in the arm and elbow. therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dry needling of shoulder myofascial trigger points ...