TITLE:
Trigger Point Infiltrations into the Temporal Muscles of Patients with Fibromyalgia and Headaches: A Randomized, Double-Blinded and Controlled Study
AUTHORS:
Svetlana Sabatke, Rosana Herminia Scola, Eduardo Paiva, Pedro André Kowacs
KEYWORDS:
Headaches, Fibromyalgia, Infiltration, Trigger Point, Myofascial Pain Syndrome
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.2 No.1,
January
29,
2015
ABSTRACT: Aims: To compare the therapeutic effect of blocking trigger points in
temporal muscles by using saline and an anesthetic agent among patients with
masticatory myofascial pain syndrome, fibromyalgia and headaches and with
non-infiltrated controls. Methods: One hundred women, aged 23 to 70 years old,
were initially triaged. The seventy patients who experienced at least one trigger
point in the temporal muscles were randomly divided into three groups, as
follows: saline infiltration, anesthetic infiltration and control
(non-infiltrated). Results: All of the patients with cranio cervical pain
confirmed the presence of a headache. Temporal muscle tenderness occurred in
90% of patients, and 93% to 98% of the trigger points of the temporal muscles
caused headache upon palpation. There was reduced facial pain intensity in
87.71% of the patients infiltrated with saline and 100% of the patients
infiltrated with an anesthetic but not in the control group. The results were
similar, considering the frequency of the headache. Regarding the intensity of
the headache, infiltration with the saline and the anesthetic were both
effective and did not exhibit significant differences, whereas significant
differences were observed in the control group. Conclusions: Patients with
fibromyalgia experience pain in the orofacial region and trigger points in the
temporal muscles, which trigger a headache. Treatment with infiltration
decreases facial pain and the frequency and intensity of headaches. There were
no differences in treatment in terms of the infiltrated substance that was
administered.