monavar hadizadeh

Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a clinical disorder with a prevalence of 85%. It is characterized by the presence of trigger points, and all people experience it at least once in their lives. Different physiotherapy and medical methods are used to manage MPS. Intramuscular electrical stimulation (IMES) is a relatively new treatment option for MPS. This study aims to examine the effect of IMES on clinical and ultrasound imaging parameters related to trigger points in patients with MPS.

This is a case series clinical trial. Twelve participants with trigger points in their upper trapezius muscles participated in this study. They were treated three times per week with IMES. Before and after the intervention, pain and cervical spine range of motion (ROM) were measured with the visual analog scale and goniometry. Ultrasonic parameters (longitudinal diameter and the area of trigger points, and the thickness of the upper trapezius muscle) were assessed with B-mode ultrasound imaging technique. The pre-test and post-test values were compared using the paired t-test. The significance level was set at 0.05.

After three sessions of IMES, pain and cervical spine ROM improved significantly (P<0.05). All ultrasound imaging parameters, including trigger points’ longitudinal diameter and area and upper trapezius muscle thickness, decreased significantly compared to baseline (P<0.05).

IMES seems to have promising effects on clinical and ultrasound imaging parameters of patients with MPS. Further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to investigate the long-term effects of IMES with the inclusion of a matched control group.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of single-session intramuscular electrical stimulation (IMES) on pain and dysfunction following active trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle.

Volunteers (30 females) with active trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle were randomly divided into two IMES and placebo groups. For the IMES group, a needle was inserted into the trigger point, and electrical stimulation was applied to generate a pain-free contraction. For the placebo group, the intervention procedure was exactly the same, but there was no electrical stimulation. Pain by visual analog scale (VAS), pain pressure threshold (PPT), range of motion (ROM), and disability by neck disability index (NDI) were assessed as main outcome measures before, immediately after, and one week after conducting intervention by another blinded researcher.

The VAS scales were improved in both groups but were significantly lower in the IMES group one week after treatment. The PPT and ROM scores were substantially higher in the IMES group one week after the treatment. The NDI indexes significantly reduced for both groups, with no significant differences between them.

IMES effectively improves pain, PPT, ROM, and NDI, following trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle. Further studies are required to investigate the IMES’s long-term effects.

Neck pain is the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide. This study aims to investigate the effects of Electro Acupuncture (EA) versus Laser Acupuncture (LA) on symptoms of women with chronic cervical myofascial pain syndrome.

This is a single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial. Thirty women with chronic cervical myofascial pain syndrome were randomly divided into three groups: EA, LA, and sham. The EA group received electrical stimulation through needles at standard acupuncture points, while the LA group received low-intensity laser irradiation at the same points. The passive laser probe was applied for the sham group. The outcome measures were neck pain pressure threshold, neck pain severity, neck disability, and cervical range of motion

The pain severity and disability were significantly lower in the EA group than in the other two groups. The neck range of motion (cervical lateral flexion and rotation) and pain pressure threshold increased significantly in the EA group immediately and one week after the intervention.

Both EA and LA interventions may be effective in alleviating the symptoms of cervical myofascial pain syndrome, but the EA can be more effective in reducing neck pain and disability in women with cervical myofascial pain syndrome.

Shoulder impingement syndrome is one of the most frequent reasons of shoulder pain in primary health care. Myofascial trigger point can lead to shoulder pain. Patients with impingement syndrome tend to have more trigger points than health subjects both in affected and non-affected side. This study is aimed to investigate the short time effect of intramuscular electrical stimulation (IMES) through dry needling on active trigger points of upper trapezius and infraspinatus muscles in patients with impingement syndrome. In the current experimental study five volunteers with impingement syndrome were treated with a single session of intramuscular electrical stimulation through dry needling on upper trapezius and infraspinatus active trigger points. A busrt current (2 Hz and 200 µs) was applied on the muscle while the electrical stimulation was increased to form a pain free contraction for the patient. Abduction range of motion (ROM) by goniometer and pain sensation by visual analog scale (VAS) were measured before and one week after treatment. VAS and ROM showed improvement in all five patients one week after intramuscular electrical stimulation through dry needling. According to the resultsintramuscular electrical stimulation through dry needling might be effective on improving pain and range of motion in patients with impingement syndrome.

Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS) is a common disorder of musculoskeletal system. About one third of the people with musculoskeletal disorders have been diagnosed as having MPS. It is a painful condition caused by trigger points. A variety of treatment approaches are used to cure MPS and its associated disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effects of single session Intramuscular Electrical Stimulation (IMES) through dry needling on pain and Range Of Motion (ROM) following trigger points in upper trapezius.
Material and Sixteen volunteers with active trigger points in upper trapezius were randomly divided into two groups: 1) the IMES treatment group (8 females) and 2) placebo group (8 females). In the IMES group, trigger points of the affected side were injected through dry needling, then a burst current (2 Hz) was applied on the muscle while the electrical stimulation steadily increases to form a pain free contraction for the patient. In placebo group, the procedure was exactly the same but there was no applied electrical stimulation through dry needling. Pain sensation by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and cervical flexion ROM were measured before treatment, immediately after treatment and one week later by another blinded researcher.
VAS scores showed improvement in both groups at the end of the treatment session and also one week later. There was no significant difference between the groups; IMES and placebo in terms of the VAS after treatment session. However, the pain scores were substantially decreased in the IMES group one week after the intervention. The ROMs were significantly lower in placebo group one week after treatment. There was no significant correlation between improvement and duration of symptoms.
Both IMES and placebo methods might be effective in relieving symptoms of patients with the MPS in upper trapezius; however, patients following the IMES treatment showed higher level of improvement during one week after the intervention. Further relevant studies with higher number of volunteers and different treatment protocols are necessary to get high quality evidence.