Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Review
Trigger point injections for chronic non-malignant musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review.
This systematic review assessed the available published evidence on the efficacy and safety of using trigger point injection (TPI) to treat patients with chronic non-malignant musculoskeletal pain that had persisted for at least 3 months. ⋯ The efficacy of TPI is no more certain than it was a decade ago as, overall, there is no clear evidence of either benefit or ineffectiveness. The only advantage of injecting anesthetic into trigger points may be to reduce the pain of the needling process, which may not be an insignificant benefit.
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Review
Trigger point injections for chronic non-malignant musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review.
This systematic review assessed the available published evidence on the efficacy and safety of using trigger point injection (TPI) to treat patients with chronic non-malignant musculoskeletal pain that had persisted for at least 3 months. ⋯ The efficacy of TPI is no more certain than it was a decade ago as, overall, there is no clear evidence of either benefit or ineffectiveness. The only advantage of injecting anesthetic into trigger points may be to reduce the pain of the needling process, which may not be an insignificant benefit.
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Uncertainty often surrounds judgments of pain, especially when pain is chronic. In order to simplify their decisions, providers adduce information from a variety of sources. Unfortunately, an extensive literature suggests that the information that is brought to bear actually can bias pain judgments, resulting in judgments that consistently differ from patient reports, with a potential negative impact on treatment. ⋯ In order to minimize the uncertainty that can characterize symptoms such as chronic pain, practitioners bring information to bear on pain assessment that can lead to misjudgments. While intuitively appealing, much of the information that is considered often has little association with pain severity and/or adjustment. A more rational decision-making process can reduce the judgment errors common to pain assessment and treatment.