| 篇名 |
Myofascial Trigger Points in Patients with Lumbar Radiculopathy due to Disc Herniation Before and After Surgery |
| 作者 |
Chun-Ming Wu, Hsing-Hong Chen, Chang-Zern Hong |
| 卷期/出版年月 |
30卷3期 (1997/6) |
| 頁次 |
175-185 |
| 摘要 |
This study is designed to investigate the distribution of myofascial trigger
points in patients with lumbar radiculopathy before and after surgery for disc herniation. Twenty-four patients (Group A) who underwent surgery for lumbar radiculopathy due to a disc lesion and another 24 age- and sex-matched non-surgical patients (Group B) with lumbar radiculopathy due to disc lesions were involved in this study. All patients had severe, intolerable pain in the lower back and a lower extremity of one side. The diagnosis was confirmed by magnetic resonance image (MRI) and electromyographic (EMG) tests. The active myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in the erector spinae (L5-S1) and in the involved lower extremity were identified 4 weeks before and after the treatment (surgical intervention in Group A and physical therapy program in Group B). The pain intensity of the MTrP based on the numerical analog scale was also assessed before and after treatment in both groups. It was found that the innervation levels of the limb muscles with active MTrPs are significantly correlated with the root levels of lumbar radiculopathy (per EMG findings), especially for L5-innervated muscles. Either lumbar discectomy or physical therapy could effectively reduce either the number or the pain intensity of active MTrPs. However, it appears that lumbar discectomy was more effective in inactivating MTrPs in the involved limb muscles than physical therapy. There was also a tendency that physical therapy would help to reduce the number and the pain intensity of active MTrPs in the lumbar paraspinal muscles more than disc surgery, especially for patients with L5 radiculopathy. |
| 關鍵詞 |
radiculopathy, lumbar spine, myofascial pain syndrome, disc herniation |
| 分類 |
Original Article |
