Comparison of Immediate Effect of High-power Pain Threshold Ultrasound and Deep Transverse Friction Massage on Active Myofascial Trigger Points

Mehrdad  Sadeghnia; Azadeh Shadmehr; Seyed Mohsen  Mir; Mohammad-Reza  Hadian Rasanani; Shohreh  Jalaei; Saman Salehi

doi:10.18502/jmr.v17i3.13066

Mehrdad Sadeghnia Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Azadeh Shadmehr Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Seyed Mohsen Mir Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad-Reza Hadian Rasanani Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Shohreh Jalaei Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Saman Salehi Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jmr.v17i3.13066

Keywords: High-power pain threshold ultrasound (HPPTUS); Static ultrasound; Friction massage; Trigger points; Myofascial trigger point; Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS)

Abstract

Introduction: The study was conducted to compare the immediate effect of high-power pain threshold ultrasound (HPPTUS) and deep transverse friction massage (DTFM) as a traditional technique on the treatment of upper trapezius active myofascial trigger points in male patients with mechanical neck pain.

Materials and Methods: In this parallel single-blind randomized clinical trial study, 60 men with mechanical neck pain (mean age: 30.57±6.19 years) who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly assigned to HPPTUS and DTFM as the control group. A visual analog scale (VAS), pain pressure threshold (PPT), and range of motion (ROM) of cervical lateral flexion (CLF) were assessed before and after treatment.

Results: Analysis of pre- and post-treatment findings showed that the VAS (P<0.01), PPT (P<0.01), and ROM of CLF (P<0.01) improved significantly in both groups while ROM of CLF increased significantly more in the HPPTUS group. An indirect correlation was found between the pre-treatment ROM of CLF and ROM of CLF improvement in both groups. A significant indirect correlation was observed between pre-treatment VAS and ROM of CLF improvement in the HPPTUS group. In the DTFM group a significant indirect correlation was found between pre-treatment ROM of CLF and VAS improvement.

Conclusion: The results showed that HPPTUS can be used as an effective treatment for active trigger points (TP). It seems that this method is more effective than deep transverse friction massage.