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A preliminary study to determine if a muscle pain protocol can produce long-term relief in chronic back pain patients
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

A preliminary study to determine if a muscle pain protocol can produce long-term relief in chronic back pain patients

Norman J Marcus, Allyson Augusta Shrikhande, Bill McCarberg and Edward Gracely
Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), v 14(8), pp 1212-1221
Aug 2013
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pme.12144
PMID: 23692059
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1111/pme.12144View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Electric Stimulation Humans Middle Aged Clinical Protocols Muscles - physiopathology Male Long-Term Care Low Back Pain - therapy Patient Selection Young Adult Electrodiagnosis Musculoskeletal Pain - therapy Treatment Failure Aged, 80 and over Physical Therapy Modalities Adult Female Retrospective Studies Pliability Injections, Intramuscular Electric Stimulation Therapy Low Back Pain - diagnosis Tendons Musculoskeletal Pain - drug therapy Aged Pain Measurement
To assess the effectiveness of a muscle protocol to treat patients diagnosed with neuraxial low back pain (LBP) before and after invasive treatments. Patients with chronic (>6 months) LBP-postinvasive treatment and pre-spine surgery-were assessed and treated. An electrical device rather than palpation was used to determine muscle(s) as possible sources of pain. Patients testing positive for muscle pain were treated with a comprehensive protocol and were followed for >3 months to determine the effect of treatment on pain severity and interference in function. Study 1: In 56 (postinvasive treatment) patients who had failed back surgery, epidural steroid injections, facet blocks, and/or trigger point injections, mean Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) pain severity dropped from 5.54 at baseline to 3.96 (P < 0.001) at a median follow-up of 77 weeks; mean BPI interference dropped from 6.09 to 3.4 (P < 0.001). Fifty-two percent of respondents reported over 50% relief. Study 2: Three of seven patients originally scheduled for spine surgery completed a substantial part of the muscle protocol, canceled their surgeries, and obtained significant relief at the 16-19 month follow-up point. In patients thought to have neuraxial pain, identification and treatment of painful muscles had statistically significant long-lasting and clinically meaningful reductions in pain and improvement in function. Muscle and tendon attachments may be an important and treatable source of pain in patients diagnosed with pre and postsurgical neuraxial pain.

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10 citations in Web of Science
11 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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