• Abdullah Osman Kocak, Ali Ahiskalioglu, Emre Sengun, Sultan Tuna Akgol Gur, and Ilker Akbas.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ataturk, Erzurum, Turkey. Electronic address: abdullahmrym86@gmail.com.
• Am J Emerg Med. 2019 Oct 1; 37 (10): 1927-1931.

IntroductionLow back pain (LBP) is a common complaint originating from muscles Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is mainly associated with trigger points (TrP) in the muscle tissue. We compared the intravenously administered non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and trigger point injection (TPI) in the treatment of LBP patients admitted to the emergency department due to pain caused by TrPs.Material And MethodAfter randomization, NSAID was administered intravenously in group 1 and TPIs were performed as specified by Travell and Simons in group 2. The TrPs were identified with the anamnesis and physical examination Demographic characteristics and vital signs of the patients were recorded. Pain scores were measured with the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at admission; and in minutes 5, 10, 15, 30, and 60.ResultsThere were 32 patients in group 1 and 22 patients in group 2. The demographics, vital signs, and pain scores at admission were not statistically significantly different between the groups. The pain scores decreased significantly in the TPI group. During the 60 min' follow-up period, the mean VAS pain score decreased by 0.41 ± 1.30 in the TPI group and by 2.59 ± 2.37 in the NSAID group (p < 0.001). Respond the treatment was significantly higher group TPI than Group NSAID (21/22 vs 20/32 respectively, p = 0.008).ConclusionIn this small randomized study with several methodological limitations, TPI was superior to the intravenous NSAIDs in the treatment of acute LBP due to TrPs. TPI can be used in the emergency departments for the acute treatment of LBP in selected patients.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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