A 30-year-woman presented with iatrogenic myofascial facial pain of 12 months' duration after surgical treatment for bilateral temporomandibular joint dysfunction. Limited response to manual acupuncture was followed by a trial of electroacupuncture. Response to electroacupuncture was limited in duration and one option was to teach her partner to perform electroacupuncture at home. The patient a...

BACKGROUND Dry needling at distant myofascial trigger points is an effective pain management in patients with myofascial pain. However, the biochemical effects of remote dry needling are not well understood. This study evaluates the remote effects of dry needling with different dosages on the expressions of substance P (SP) in the proximal muscle, spinal dorsal horns of rabbits. METHODS Male ...

The 70-year-old trigger point theory has experienced a growing scientific confirmation and clinical significance as a consequence of recent muscle pain research. The trigger point pain formation is caused by high levels of vasoneuroactive substances. Depending on intensity and duration of the muscle stimulus the central pain processing is modified and leads to characteristic referred pain patte...

AIMS To derive reliable and valid revised Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) Axis I diagnostic algorithms for clinical TMD diagnoses. METHODS The multisite RDC/TMD Validation Project's dataset (614 TMD community and clinic cases, and 91 controls) was used to derive revised algorithms for Axis I TMD diagnoses. Validity of diagnostic algorithms was assessed r...

BACKGROUND The etiology of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is inconclusive, but central mechanisms are well accepted for this pain condition. Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is one of the most common musculoskeletal pain diseases and is characterized by myofascial trigger points (MTrPs). It has been suggest that MTrPs have an important factor in the genesis of FMS. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the cur...

The mechanism of musculoskeletal pain underlying low level static exertions, such as those experienced during computer work, is poorly understood. It was hypothesized that static postural and visual stress experienced during computer work might contribute to trigger point development in the trapezius muscles, resulting in myofascial pain. A study was conducted to observe the development of myof...

OBJECTIVES Myofascial pain is the most common temporomandibular disorder. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of combined treatment modalities in the management of myofascial temporomandibular pain. METHODS Fifty patients (44 female, 6 male) clinically and radiologically diagnosed with myofascial temporomandibular disorder (TMD) were selected for the study and randoml...

OBJECTIVE To identify temporomandibular disorders (TMD) symptoms in two groups of fibromyalgia patients according to the temporal relation between the onset of facial pain (FP) and generalized body pain (GBP). CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY DESIGN: Fifty-three consecutive women with fibromyalgia and FP were stratified according to the onset of orofacial pain: Group-A (mean age 47.30 ± 14.20 years old), ...

Daniel Aghion, MD, Pradeep Chopra, MD, Adetokunbo A. Oyelese, MD, PhD  approximately 250,000 surgeries for low back pain are performed annually in the USA. Approximately 40% of patients undergoing lumbar surgery continue to report significant pain after surgery, and a significant portion of these will result in failed back syndrome (FBS). FBS is defined as persistent or recurrent chronic pain ...