Disclosures: Hye Chang Rhim, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest
Objective: One of the common causes for hospital visits, chronic abdominal pain often results in inappropriate diagnostic testing and poor treatment. Abdominal myofascial pain syndrome (AMPS) is often left out of diagnosis and should be considered for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic abdominal pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics AMPS and to assess the effect of sonography-guided trigger point injections (SGI).
Design: Retrospective Case Series Study Setting : Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic at Korea University Ansan Hospital Participants : 102 patients (47 males and 55 females) with a clinical diagnosis of abdominal myofascial pain syndrome
Interventions: Sonography-guided trigger point injections with 0.5% lidocaine
Main Outcome Measures: The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) ratio was calculated by comparing the initial VAS and the final VAS score after injections, and the patients were divided into four groups: non-, mild, moderate, and good responders.
Results: The median duration of pain was 12 months (range 1–360), and the median number of hospital visits before the SGI was two (range 0–50). Among 102 patients, 67 (65.7%) were categorized as good responders, 12 (11.8%) as moderate responders, 7 (6.9%) as mild responders, and 16 (15.7%) as non-responders. Comparing the initial and final VAS scores, the SGI was found effective in alleviating pain (p < 0.001). Moreover, patients who received the injections twice or more tended to show more significant pain reduction than those with single injection (p < 0.001). The most common injection site at initial visit was the right middle column of the upper abdomen. Conclusions: Patients with AMPS suffer from a long duration of pain and undergo many hospital visits and diagnostic tests. SGI with lidocaine can be an effective and safe treatment for patients with chronic AMPS.
Level of Evidence: Level IV
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Rhim HC, Cha JH, Kim DH. Clinical Characteristics of Abdominal Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Effect of Sonography-Guided Trigger Point Injections [abstract]. PM R. 2020; 12(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/clinical-characteristics-of-abdominal-myofascial-pain-syndrome-and-effect-of-sonography-guided-trigger-point-injections/. Accessed June 28, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2020
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/clinical-characteristics-of-abdominal-myofascial-pain-syndrome-and-effect-of-sonography-guided-trigger-point-injections/