Efficacy of Muscle Energy Technique in Combination with Strain-counterstrain Technique on Deactivation of Trigger Point Pain

Abstract

Objective: To establish the best possible long term effective choice of treatment program for deactivating MTrP's by using the combination of muscle energy technique with strain-counterstrain technique Design: Pretest-Posttest control group design Setting: Outpatient physiotherapy department, Taneja Hospital, Preet Vihar New Delhi. Patients: Fourty five subjects (only male) with Myofascial Trigger Points Pain. Subjects were randomly placed into three groups: Experimental group A (n=15), Experimental group B (n=15) and a Control group C (n=15). Intervention: The experimental group A received muscle energy technique in combination with straincounterstrain technique and experimental group B received muscle energy technique alone whereas control group received conventional treatment only. Main Outcome Measures: Pain pressure threshold was assessed with the pressure threshold meter (PTM). Pain and functional status of the patients were measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Neck Disability Index scores respectively. Results: Within group analysis revealed significant improvement in pain pressure threshold, functional status and reduction in pain intensity in all groups. Between group analysis revealed significant difference between group A, group B and group C. Further post hoc analysis revealed significant difference between group A and B, group A and C and group B and C for all variables even after one week of follow up after the termination of intervention. Conclusion: The combination of muscle energy technique with strain-counterstrain has been shown to produce greater improvement in pain pressure threshold on pressure threshold meter, function status on neck disability index scores and reduction in pain intensity on visual analogue scores even after one week of the termination of intervention. This shows the long term effectiveness of combination of two manual techniques deactivating the myofascial trigger point's pain.