Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Increased H-reflex response induced by intramuscular electrical stimulation of latent myofascial trigger points.
Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) present with mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia. No electrophysiological evidence exists as to the excitability of muscle spindle afferents at myofascial trigger points MTrPs. The purpose of this current study was to explore whether an H-reflex response could be elicited from intramuscular electrical stimulation. If so, to assess the possibility of increased reflex response at MTrPs. ⋯ The current study provides first electrophysiological evidence that intramuscular electrical stimulation can evoke H-reflex, and that higher H-reflex amplitude and lower H-reflex threshold exist at MTrPs than non-MTrPs respectively, suggesting that muscle spindle afferents may be involved in the pathophysiology of MTrPs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Comparison of the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment and local anaesthetic injection for low back pain: a randomised controlled clinical trial.
To compare the effectiveness of repeated acupuncture stimulation and local anaesthetic injection at the most painful points in patients with low back pain. ⋯ Both injection and acupuncture relieved pain, but acupuncture was superior for the immediate and sustained effects, suggesting that it is a useful treatment for low back pain. The difference in the effects may be attributable to differences in the mechanism of pain suppression.