TY - JOUR
T1 - Myofascial pain syndromes in the emergency department
T2 - What are we missing?
AU - Roldan, Carlos J.
AU - Hu, Na
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2015/12
Y1 - 2015/12
N2 - Background Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), pain originating in the myofascial tissue, is a widely recognized pathology characterized by the presence of referred pain (often distant from its origin and specific to each muscle) that can resemble other pathologies and by the presence of a trigger point, a localized hyperirritable band able to reproduce the pain and its associated symptoms. Patients with acute or chronic MPS are commonly seen in the emergency department (ED), usually complaining of pain of undetermined origin. Traditionally, the emergency physician (EP) is not trained to diagnose and treat MPS, and many patients with MPS have received less than optimal management of this condition in the ED. Many types of treatments are known to be effective against MPS. Among these, trigger point injection (TPI) is considered a practical and rapid approach that can be carried out in the ED by EPs. Objective This article reviews the current diagnostic methods, treatment options, and procedures for MPS patients seen in the ED to enable EPs to diagnose and successfully treat this condition. Discussion This article discusses the clinical characteristics, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of MPS in the ED, including a description of performing TPI. Conclusions MPS can mimic other clinical conditions commonly seen in the ED. MPS can be diagnosed on the basis of clinical findings; in many cases, no imaging or laboratory testing is needed. Therefore, MPS diagnosis and treatment can be successfully accomplished in the ED by EPs.
AB - Background Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), pain originating in the myofascial tissue, is a widely recognized pathology characterized by the presence of referred pain (often distant from its origin and specific to each muscle) that can resemble other pathologies and by the presence of a trigger point, a localized hyperirritable band able to reproduce the pain and its associated symptoms. Patients with acute or chronic MPS are commonly seen in the emergency department (ED), usually complaining of pain of undetermined origin. Traditionally, the emergency physician (EP) is not trained to diagnose and treat MPS, and many patients with MPS have received less than optimal management of this condition in the ED. Many types of treatments are known to be effective against MPS. Among these, trigger point injection (TPI) is considered a practical and rapid approach that can be carried out in the ED by EPs. Objective This article reviews the current diagnostic methods, treatment options, and procedures for MPS patients seen in the ED to enable EPs to diagnose and successfully treat this condition. Discussion This article discusses the clinical characteristics, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of MPS in the ED, including a description of performing TPI. Conclusions MPS can mimic other clinical conditions commonly seen in the ED. MPS can be diagnosed on the basis of clinical findings; in many cases, no imaging or laboratory testing is needed. Therefore, MPS diagnosis and treatment can be successfully accomplished in the ED by EPs.
KW - emergency medicine
KW - myofascial pain
KW - trigger points
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84947618514&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84947618514&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.04.027
DO - 10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.04.027
M3 - Article
C2 - 26153029
AN - SCOPUS:84947618514
SN - 0736-4679
VL - 49
SP - 1004
EP - 1010
JO - Journal of Emergency Medicine
JF - Journal of Emergency Medicine
IS - 6
ER -