Objective methods of diagnosing myofascial pain syndrome

Abstract

Introduction and objective The myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is an important clinical problem which, despite numerous scientific reports, remains not fully understood. This refers in particular to unclearly stated pathomechanism and undefined diagnostic and therapeutic standards. In daily clinical practice, palpation is the most commonly applied method of myofascial pain syndrome diagnostics. However, this may be associated with inaccurate diagnosis. Therefore, the diagnosis of myofascial pain syndrome requires reliable, repeatable measurements which should be characterized by high sensitivity in order to detect clinically important changes. The aim of this study is to review the objective diagnostic methods essential for the correct diagnosis of myofascial pain syndrome. Brief description of the state of knowledge The progress of clinical medicine depends on the ability to accurately diagnose the disease and objectively assess the effects of the treatment. Therefore, it seems crucial to develop effective, objective methods for diagnosing myofascial pain syndrome. Currently, there is no consensus among clinicians regarding the myofascial pain syndrome diagnostic procedure. Conclusion Manual palpation performed by an experienced physiotherapist seems to be the most reliable examination, followed by establishing the Simons’ diagnostic criteria on its basis, together with supporting the diagnosis using one of the objective tools assessing changes in muscle tissue suggesting the presence of trigger points.

Keywords

• trigger point
• myofascial pain syndrome
• myofascial trigger point