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A comprehensive protocol to diagnose and treat pain of muscular origin may successfully and reliably decrease or eliminate pain in a chronic pain population
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

A comprehensive protocol to diagnose and treat pain of muscular origin may successfully and reliably decrease or eliminate pain in a chronic pain population

Norman J Marcus, Edward J Gracely and Kelly O Keefe
Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), v 11(1), pp 25-34
Jan 2010
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00752.x
PMID: 20002599
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00752.xView
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Electric Stimulation Muscle Weakness - diagnosis Humans Middle Aged Pain Management Clinical Protocols Male Facial Pain - diagnosis Exercise Therapy Young Adult Physical Therapy Modalities Adult Female Treatment Outcome Combined Modality Therapy Tendons Muscular Diseases - diagnosis Injections Algorithms Facial Pain - therapy Adolescent Physical Examination Aged Pain Measurement Chronic Disease Muscular Diseases - therapy Pain - diagnosis
A comprehensive protocol is presented to identify muscular causes of regional pain syndromes utilizing an electrical stimulus in lieu of palpation, and combining elements of Prolotherapy with trigger point injections. One hundred seventy-six consecutive patients were evaluated for the presence of muscle pain by utilizing an electrical stimulus produced by the Muscle Pain Detection Device. The diagnosis of "Muscle Pain Amenable to Injection" (MPAI), rather than trigger points, was made if pain was produced for the duration of the stimulation. If MPAI was found, muscle tendon injections (MTI) were offered to patients along with post-MTI physical therapy, providing neuromuscular electrical stimulation followed by a validated exercise program [1]. A control group, evaluated 1 month prior to their actual consultation/evaluation when muscle pain was identified but not yet treated, was used for comparison. Forty-five patients who met criteria completed treatment. Patients' scores on the Brief Pain Inventory decreased an average of 62%; median 70% (P < 0.001) for pain severity and 68%; median 85% (P < 0.001) for pain interference one month following treatment. These changes were significantly greater (P < 0.001) than those observed in the untreated controls. A protocol incorporating an easily reproducible electrical stimulus to diagnose a muscle causing pain in a region of the body followed by an injection technique that involves the entirety of the muscle, and post injection restoration of muscle function, can successfully eliminate or significantly reduce regional pain present for years.

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6 citations in Web of Science
7 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Anesthesiology
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