Presencia de puntos gatillo miofasciales en pacientes con ictus isquémico agudo: estudio piloto descriptivo transversal

Abstract

ObjectivesTo determine the presence of active and latent MTrPs in 4 shoulder muscles and 4 hip muscles of the paretic and non-paretic limbs, in patients with acute ischaemic stroke, and to analyse if there is a relationship with the degree of strength of the paretic extremities. Patients and methods22 patients with ischaemic stroke of less than 5 days’ evolution were selected, admitted to the Stroke Unit of a hospital centre with mild or moderate neurological severity (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale 3-15), brachial and / or leg paresis, and that prior to admission presented functional autonomy or mild or very mild disability (modified Rankin scale 0-2). The MTrPs were recorded in 4 muscles of easy palpable access of each shoulder and 4 of each hip, following the diagnostic criteria of Simons, Travell & Simons. ResultsAll the patients showed latent MTrPs in the shoulder and hip pads, being more frequent in the infraspinatus (94.4%) and in the gluteus maximus (78.9%). The degree of strength of the paretic limbs correlated with the presence of latent PGMs in specific areas of both muscles. ConclusionsThe results point towards a high presence of MTrPs, predominantly latent, in the shoulder and hip of the paretic limbs secondary to acute ischaemic stroke. In turn, they suggest a possible correlation between the presence of latent MTrPs and the degree of strength of the same paretic limbs. However, studies of larger sample size are needed to corroborate what was found in this pilot study.