Pain Intensity and Sensory Perception of Tender Points in Female Patients with Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Study
Identificadores
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12020/1278ISSN: 1661-7827
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041461
Autor/es
Úbeda-D'Ocasar, Edurne; Valera-Calero, Juan Antonio; Hervás-Pérez, Juan Pablo; Caballero-Corella, Mario; Ojedo-Martín, Cristina; [et al.]Fecha
2021Tipo de documento
articleÁrea/s de conocimiento
FisioterapiaResumen
Abstract: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a condition that courses with chronic pain, fatigue,
sleep disturbance, impaired quality of life and daily function. Due to the lack of blood, imaging
or histological confirmatory tests, the diagnosis of FMS is based on the presence of widespread
pain and presence of tender points (TPs). Our aim was to assess the pain pressure thresholds
(PPTs) and subjective pain perception (SPP) of all 18 TPs while applying a normalized pressure
in female patients with fibromyalgia. An exploratory descriptive pilot study was conducted in
30 female patients with FMS. Sociodemographic data (e.g., age, height, weight, and body mass
index), clinical characteristics (e.g., years with diagnosis and severity of FMS), PPTs (assessed
with an algometer), and SPP (assessed with a visual analogue scale) of all 18 TPs were collected.
A comparative analysis side-to-side (same TP, left and right sides) and between TPs was conducted.
No side-to-side differences were found (p < 0.05). Significant differences between all 18 TPs were
found for PPTs (p < 0.0001), and SPP (p < 0.005) scores were found. The most mechanosensitive
points were located in the second costochondral junction, the occiput, the trochanteric prominence;
the most painful while applying a normalized pressure considering the TP and side were those
located in the gluteus, trochanteric prominence, and supraspinatus. The current study describes PPTs
and SPP, as assessed with algometry and visual analogue scale, respectively, of all 18 TPs in female
patients with FMS. TPs exhibited significant PPTs and SPP differences between TP locations with no
side-to-side differences.