Acupuncture and Myofascial trigger therapy helps some people

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Acupuncture And Myofascial Trigger Therapy Treat Same Pain Areas

ScienceDaily (May 14, 2008) — Ancient acupuncture and modern

myofascial pain therapy each focus on hundreds of similar points on

the body to treat pain, although they do it differently, says a

physician at Mayo Clinic in ville who analyzed the two

techniques.

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Results of the study, published May 10 in the Journal of

Complementary and Alternative Medicine, suggest that people who want

relief from chronic musculoskeletal pain may benefit from either

therapy, says chronic pain specialist Dr. Dorsher of the

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic.

" This may come as a surprise to those who perform the two different

techniques, because the notion has been that these are exclusive

therapies separated by thousands of years, " he says. " But this study

shows that in the treatment of pain disorders, acupuncture and

myofascial techniques are fundamentally similar – and this is good

news for anyone looking for relief. "

Classic Chinese acupuncture treats pain and a variety of health

disorders using fine needles to " reset " nerve transmission, Dorsher

says. Needles are inserted in one or several of 361 classical

acupoints to target specific organs or pain problems. " This is a very

safe and effective technique, " he says.

Myofascial trigger-point therapy, which has evolved since the mid-

1800s, focuses on tender muscle or " trigger point " regions. There are

about 255 such regions described by the Trigger Point Manual, the

seminal textbook on myofascial pain. These are believed to be

sensitive and painful areas of muscle and fascia, the web of soft

tissue that surrounds muscle, bones, organs and other body

structures. To relieve pain at these trigger points, practitioners

use injections, deep pressure, massage, mechanical vibration,

electrical stimulation and stretching, among other techniques.

In the study, Dorsher analyzed studies published on both techniques

and demonstrated that acupuncture points and trigger points are

anatomically and clinically similar in their uses for treatment of

pain disorders.

In another recent study, he found that at least 92 percent of common

trigger points anatomically corresponded with acupoints, and that

their clinical correspondence in treating pain was more than 95

percent. " That means that the classical acupoint was in the same body

region as the trigger point, was used for the same type of pain

problem, and the trigger point referred pain pattern followed the

meridian pathway of that acupoint described by the Chinese more than

2,000 years before, " Dorsher says. Myofascial pain therapy has lately

incorporated the use of acupuncture needles in a treatment

called " dry needling " to treat muscle trigger points.

" I think it is fair to say that the myofascial pain tradition

represents an independent rediscovery of the healing principles of

traditional Chinese medicine, " Dorsher says. " What likely unites

these two disciplines is the nervous system, which transmits pain. "

The study was funded by Mayo Clinic.

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