Reliability of trigger point diagnosis has not been studied properly yet
Five pages on PainSci cite Myburgh 2008: 1. The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain 2. Is Diagnosis for Pain Problems Reliable? 3. Trigger Point Doubts 4. Palpatory Pareidolia & Diagnosis by Touch 5. Good quality summaries of most important scientific papers about trigger points
PainSci commentary on Myburgh 2008: ?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided wherever possible.
This 2008 review of the reliability of trigger point diagnosis resoundingly concluded that the question simply hasn’t been properly studied. The authors urge clinicians and scientists to “move toward simpler, global assessments of patient status.” Translation: “Nothing to see here, move along!”
This is essentially the same conclusion as a 2009 review by Lucas et al.
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the reproducibility of manual palpation in identifying trigger points based on a systematic review of available literature.
DATA SOURCES: Medline (1965-2007), CINHAL (1982-2007), ISI Web of Science (1945-2007), and MANTIS (1966-2007) databases and reference lists of articles.
STUDY SELECTION: Reproducibility studies relating to identification and diagnosis of trigger points through palpation. Acceptable studies were required to specifically consider either inter- or intrarater reliability of trigger point identification through manual palpation and include kappa statistics as part of their statistical assessment.
DATA EXTRACTION: Three independent reviewers considered the studies for inclusion and rated their methodologic quality based on the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy guidelines for the reporting of diagnostic studies.
DATA SYNTHESIS: Eleven studies were initially included; however, 5 were subsequently excluded based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Only 2 studies were judged to be of high quality, and the level of evidence criteria suggested that, at best, moderate evidence could be found from which to make pronouncements on the literature. Only local tenderness of the trapezius (kappa range, .15-.62) and pain referral of the gluteus medius (kappa range, .298-.487) and quadratus lumborum (kappa range, .36-.501) were found to be reproducible.
CONCLUSIONS: The methodologic quality of the majority of studies for the purpose of establishing trigger point reproducibility is generally poor. More high-quality studies are needed to comment on this procedure. Clinicians and scientists are urged to move toward simpler, global assessments of patient status.
related content
- “Reliability of physical examination for diagnosis of myofascial trigger points: a systematic review of the literature,” Lucas et al, Clinical Journal of Pain, 2009.
- “Interrater Agreement of Manual Palpation for Identification of Myofascial Trigger Points: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” Rathbone et al, The Clinical Journal of Pain, 2017.
- “Clinical precision of myofascial trigger point location in the trapezius muscle,” Sciotti et al, Pain, 2001.
- “Interrater reliability in myofascial trigger point examination,” Gerwin et al, Pain, 1997.
- “Travell, Simons and Cargo Cult Science,” Fred Wolfe, FMperplex.com.
- “The fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndromes: a preliminary study of tender points and trigger points in persons with fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome and no disease,” Wolfe et al, Journal of Rheumatology, 1992.
- “Interrater reliability: the kappa statistic,” McHugh, Biochem Med (Zagreb), 2012.
- “The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data,” Landis et al, Biometrics, 1977.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Long-Term Effects of Repeated Injections of Local Anesthetic With or Without Corticosteroid for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Randomized Trial. Friedly 2017 Arch Phys Med Rehabil.
- Cannabis-based medicines for chronic neuropathic pain in adults. Ateş 2026 Cochrane Database Syst Rev.
- Effect of exercise on depression and anxiety symptoms: systematic umbrella review with meta-meta-analysis. Munro 2026 Br J Sports Med.
- Optimizing elastic band resistance training for Metabolic Syndrome components in older adults: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of randomized controlled trials. Saez-Berlanga 2026 Arch Phys Med Rehabil.
- Biomechanical insights into Achilles tendinopathy risk and protection in runners: a large prospective study 4HAIE. Jandacka 2026 Br J Sports Med.