Prevalencia de puntos gatillo miofasciales en el flautista. Estudio piloto

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence of myofascial trigger points in the muscles involved in the position adopted by the flutist. Subjects and methodsThirteen flutists aged 12 to 66 years, who played the flute as first instrument at the time of the assessment, at the School of Music and the Municipal Band of Alcobendas, Madrid (Spain) were considered for inclusion in the study between January and April 2013. Neck, shoulder girdle and upper limb muscles were studied to detect active and latent myofascial trigger points following the Simons, Travell & Simons diagnostic criteria. ResultsOf the 13 flutists studied, 69.2% (9 participants) had latent myofascial trigger points and 23.1% (3 participants) had active myofascial trigger points. The accessory respiratory muscles were the most affected, these being the upper trapezius muscles, scalene and sternocleidomastoid. ConclusionsMyofascial pain syndrome is a common clinical condition in flute players. There is a high frequency of active and latent myofascial trigger points, mainly in the muscles involved in breathing. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to clarify the results of this pilot study.