Comparison of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy and Trigger Point Injection in Terms of Their Effects on Pain and Bodily Functions of Myofascial Pain Syndrome Patients

[Purpose] This study examined how the non-invasive method of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) and the invasive method of trigger point injection (TPI) affected subjects with myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) in the trapezius muscle in terms of alleviation pain and enhancement of bodily functions, and proposes a more effective treatment method. [Subjects] Thirty-one patients with MPS in the trapezius muscle were divided into three groups: an ESWT group (n=10), a TPI group (n=13), and a control group (n=8). [Methods] The degree of pain was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS). Pressure pain threshold (PPT) was measured at trigger points in the trapezius muscle using a pressure algometer, and the Constant-Murley scale (CMS) was used for functional evaluation. [Results] All three groups showed statistically significant improvements in terms of VAS following treatment. For the pressure pain threshold, only the TPI group showed a statistically significant improvement. CMS showed statistically significant improvements in all three groups, following the treatment. A comparison of the effects of the different treatment methods revealed no significant differences among the groups in terms of VAS and PPT, but CMS showed significant differences between the control and treatment groups. However, between the ESWT group and the TPI group, no significant difference was found in any category. [Conclusion] The study results suggest that the non-invasive method of ESWT is as effective as the invasive method of TPI in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome.