Affiliation:
1. Department of Neurology, Glostrup Hospital, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Denmark
Abstract
The objective of the present study was to investigate whether the reliability of tenderness evaluation can be increased by using a new technique called “pressure-controlled palpation” (pcp). The technique has been made possible by a newly invented piece of equipment called a palpometer, with which a pressure-sensitive plastic film attached to the index finger records the pressure exerted. In 15 patients with chronic tension-type headache and in 15 healthy volunteers, 2 investigators studied myofascial tenderness using conventional palpation and pressure-controlled palpation. Tenderness was scored on a 4–point scale in each of the examined pericranial regions. The sum of tenderness scores recorded by two observers using conventional palpation differed significantly ( p = 0.0003), while results did not differ between observers using pressure-controlled palpation ( p = 0.89). During palpation with seven different pressure intensities a positive and linear relation between pressure and pain intensity was found ( p = 0.00006). Pain intensity reported by the subjects correlated highly with tenderness scored by the observer (rs = 0.95, p < 0.0001). These results demonstrate for the first time that tenderness scores can be compared between observers if palpation pressure is controlled. Pressure-controlled palpation represents a major improvement on current palpation techniques and should be standard in future research on myofascial pain disorders.
Subject
Neurology (clinical),General Medicine
Cited by
131 articles.
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