FREQUENCY OF NECK MYOFASCIAL PAIN SYNDROME AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH SEVERITY OF PAIN AND DISABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY; A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: Vertebral nerve root malfunction-related disease is called cervical radiculopathy (CR), the clinical picture of which is pain spreading from the neck to the affected root. Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is the main cause of pain and disability in the working population. The aim of the study was to find the frequency of myofascial trigger points and their association with the degree of pain and disability in persons with cervical radiculopathy.

Material & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample size was 148 patients, recruited from physiotherapy departments of 2 hospitals in Peshawar, population size of 240, using non-probability convenience sampling technique. Data was collected from CR patients between the ages of 18 to 65. After meeting the eligibility criteria, participants were evaluated by using the numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) and neck disability index (NDI) to determine the level of pain and disability respectively. A 4-point criterion was used for the identification of myofascial trigger points.

Results: The study included 148 participants. Out of which 90 were males and 58 were females. The patient's mean age was 39.27 ± 13.59 years. There were 60.8% males and 39.2% females with a mean weight of 71.973 ± 11.77 kg and a mean height of 169.46 ± 8.59 cm. The mean score of MTrPs, NDI, and NPRS was 15.15 ± 3.28, 22.74 ± 6.34, and 5.80 ± 1.38 respectively. The correlation coefficients of NDI & MTrPs, NPRS & MTrPs, and NDI & NPRS were .868, .822, and .807 respectively.

Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of Myofascial Trigger Points in cervical radiculopathy patients, and Myofascial Trigger Points also had a strong correlation with the severity of pain and disability.