Myofascial trigger points in subjects presenting with mechanical neck pain: A blinded, controlled study

updated May 21, 2019

Tags: neck, muscle pain, head/neck, spine, muscle, pain problems

PainSci summary of Fernández-de-Las-Peñas 2007?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 at the bottom of the page, as often as possible. ★★★★☆?4-star ratings are for bigger/better studies and reviews published in more prestigious journals, with only quibbles. Ratings are a highly subjective opinion, and subject to revision at any time. If you think this paper has been incorrectly rated, please let me know.

This straightforward study found that active trigger points were “more frequent” in 20 people with neck pain and 20 people with no pain.

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.

The aim of this study was to describe the differences in the presence of myofascial trigger points (TrPs) in the upper trapezius, sternocleidomastoid, levator scapulae and suboccipital muscles between patients presenting with mechanical neck pain and control healthy subjects. Twenty subjects with mechanical neck pain and 20 matched healthy controls participated in this study. TrPs were identified, by an assessor blinded to the subjects' condition, when there was a hypersensible tender spot in a palpable taut band, local twitch response elicited by the snapping palpation of the taut band, and reproduction of the referred pain typical of each TrP. The mean number of TrPs present on each neck pain patient was 4.3 (SD: 0.9), of which 2.5 (SD: 1.3) were latent and 1.8 (SD: 0.8) were active TrPs. Control subjects also exhibited TrPs (mean: 2; SD: 0.8). All were latent TrPs. Differences in the number of TrPs between both study groups were significant for active TrPs (P<0.001), but not for latent TrPs (P>0.5). Moreover, differences in the distribution of TrPs within the analysed cervical muscles were also significant (P<0.01) for all muscles except for both levator scapulae. All the examined muscles evoked referred pain patterns contributing to patients' symptoms. Active TrPs were more frequent in patients presenting with mechanical neck pain than in healthy subjects.

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.

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