Lendraitienė et al., Orthop Muscular Syst 2017, 6:4 DOI: 10.4172/2161-0533.1000246 Open Access Research Article Volume 6 • Issue 4 • 1000246 Orthop Muscular Syst, an open access journal ISSN: 2161-0533 Orthopedic & Muscular System: Current Research O r t h o p e d i c & M u s c u l a r S y s t e m : C u r r e n t R e s e a r c h ISSN: 2161-0533 The Effectiveness of Different Physical Therapy Techniques for Relieving Pain and Increasing Neck Range of Motion in Patients with Diagnosed Latent Myofascial Trigger Points Eglė Lendraitienė 1 , Dovilė Bagdonaitė 1 , Daiva Petruševičienė 1 *, Vilma Dudonienė 2 and Vitas Lendraitis 3 1 Clinical Department of Rehabilitation, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Lithuania 2 Department of Applied Biology and Rehabilitation, Lithuanian Sports University, Lithuania 3 Institute of Sport Science and Innovations, Lithuanian Sports University, Lithuania Abstract Aim:Researchers are demonstrating increasing interest in latent myofascial trigger points (LMTP) because of their signifcantly higher prevalence, compared to active myofascial trigger points (AMTP). Even though LMTP are quite prevalent and are important for muscle function, their effect is essentially under-researched due the lack of studies in the area. The aim is to compare the effectiveness of different physical therapy techniques for relieving pain and increasing neck range of motion in patients with diagnosed latent myofascial trigger points. Population: The study included 27 volunteers (group I – 15 subjects, and group II – 12 subjects) with at least one LMTP in the upper part of the trapezius muscle and without any health problems that could affect the results of the study. Methods: Prior to the physical therapy, immediately after it, and one week after its completion, algometric measurements were performed in order to determine which pressure force provoked pain. Also, a 10-point visual analogue pain scale (VAS) was applied in order to determine the severity of pain that could be caused by 4 kg/cm 2 pressure. Goniometric measurements were performed to evaluate changes in the range of motion when performing neck fexion, extension, and lateral fexion. Results: In subjects who underwent ischemic compression procedures (group I), the pain threshold increased signifcantly from 2.27 ± 0.28 kg/cm 2 at baseline to 3.01 ± 0.33 kg/cm 2 immediately after physical therapy, and to 2.63 ± 0.3 kg/cm 2 at one week after physical therapy (p<0.05). Meanwhile, pain intensity statistically signifcantly decreased from 5.20 ± 0.56 points at baseline to 3.20 ± 0.78 points immediately after physical therapy, and to 4.53 ± 0.74 points at one week after physical therapy (p<0.05). The range of fexion in the neck statistically signifcantly increased both immediately and at one week after physical therapy, whereas no changes in the range of motion were observed during extension or lateral fexion. In subjects who underwent taping procedures (group II), the pain threshold increased signifcantly from 2.13 ± 0.43 kg/cm 2 at baseline to 2.30 ± 0.36 kg/cm 2 immediately after physical therapy, and to 2.33 ± 0.46 kg/cm 2 at one week after physical therapy (p<0.05). Meanwhile, pain intensity statistically signifcantly decreased only immediately after physical therapy - from 5.33 ± 0.78 points to 5 ± 0.74 points (p<0.05). No changes in the range of motion during neck fexion, extension, or lateral fexion were observed. The comparison of the groups showed that pain intensity in group I subjects (i.e., in those who underwent ischemic compression procedures) was statistically signifcantly lower immediately after physical therapy and at one-week follow-up. There were no statistically signifcant differences in the range of motion during neck fexion, extension, or lateral fexion between the groups. Conclusion: Ischemic compression proved to be a more effective physical therapy technique than taping in reducing pain in latent myofascial trigger points. *Corresponding author: Daiva Petruševičienė, Clinical Department of Rehabilitation, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Lithuania, Tel: +370 68027117; E-mail: daiva.petruseviciene@gmail.com Received September 01, 2017; Accepted September 09, 2017; Published September 20, 2017 Citation: Lendraitienė E, Bagdonaitė D, Petruševičienė D, Dudonienė V, Lendraitis V (2017) The Effectiveness of Different Physical Therapy Techniques for Relieving Pain and Increasing Neck Range of Motion in Patients with Diagnosed Latent Myofascial Trigger Points. Orthop Muscular Syst 6: 246. doi:10.4172/2161- 0533.1000246 Copyright:t © 2017 Lendraitienė E, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Keywords: Latent myofascial trigger point; Pain; Physical therapy Introduction Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a well-known condition of regional pain caused by myofascial trigger points and tense fbers [1-4]. Myofascial trigger points are the most extensively discussed cause of myofascial pain because this pain may signifcantly afect patients’ daily life and even psychological condition [5]. Myofascial trigger points (MTP) are classifed into active and latent ones [6]. Te active form of MTP manifests itself either through spontaneous pain or pain provoked by certain movements [7] as well as by reduced muscle elasticity, muscle weakness, and pain related to direct pressure. Pain intensity and radiation depend on MTP stimulation [8]. Latent MTP (LMTP) have the same – albeit not as severe – clinical characteristics as active MTP (AMTP) do [9]. However, the pain is not persistent – instead, it is provoked only by direct pressure on the latent MTP [10]. For this reason, people frequently do not realize that they have latent MTP [11,12]. Even though attention is mostly focused on active MTP, latent MTP are starting to attract increasing attention of researchers because even though these MTP do not cause spontaneous pain, they can cause such musculoskeletal problems as local hypersensitivity, pain on mechanical stimulation, reduced range of motion, muscle weakness, fatigue, and cramps [13,14]. In addition, the prevalence of LMTP is signifcantly higher than that of AMTP [1]. LMTP cause the myofascial pain syndrome when they are activated