Educational Program for Myofascial Pain Syndrome

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate a program for managing myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). Design: The study design was a randomized controlled trial. Setting: The setting was the pain clinic of an academic hospital in Taiwan. Participants: Sixty-two (62) patients with a 3-month or longer history of MPS who were treated at this institution from July to November 2007 were included in the study. Interventions: The participants were randomized to an experimental group (n = 32) or a control group (n = 30). Both groups underwent trigger-point dry needling and muscle-stretch exercise regimen for passively stretching the affected muscles to their normal lengths; the experimental group then watched an 8-minute multimedia instructional video about MPS with supplemental handouts. Main outcome measures: The Brief Pain Inventory-Taiwan was administered at baseline and 1 month thereafter. The effect size model was used to measure the effects of Brief Pain Inventory-Taiwan. Bootstrap estimation was used to derive 95% confidence intervals for group differences. Results: Compared to the control group, the experimental group had significantly less interference of pain, lower intensity of present pain, and least pain (p< 0.05). Multiple regression analysis of patients with shoulder pain revealed significantly improved pain intensity and interference of pain (p< 0.05). Conclusions: The findings emphasize the importance of including patient education programs in MPS intervention.