Effectiveness of active soft tissue release and trigger point block for the diagnosis and treatment of low back and leg pain of predominantly gluteus medius origin: a report of 115 cases.
Masahiro Kameda, Hideyuki Tanimae
PMID 30858653WHAT IT FOUND
Most patients with low back or leg pain had myofascial trigger points, often in the gluteus medius.
Active soft tissue release alone or with injection improved symptoms in nearly all cases, but this uncontrolled report cannot prove the treatments caused the relief.
Key findings
01The gluteus medius was the most common source of pain in patients with low back pain, leg pain, or both.
02Symptom improvement was noted in all three pain groups treated with active soft tissue release alone or in combination with trigger point block.
03Chronic patients required significantly longer treatment periods compared to non-chronic patients.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
No control group or blinding was used, so it is impossible to know if the treatments caused the improvement or if the pain resolved on its own. The study was retrospective, relying on medical records that were not designed for research, leading to incomplete data on treatment duration and specific techniques. Sample sizes for specific subgroups were small and uneven, reducing the reliability of the findings. Lumbar spinal canal stenosis was not ruled out in all patients, meaning some improvements might have occurred in patients with structural spine issues. The authors state that a larger, randomized study is necessary to confirm the effects and rule out placebo effects.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. The research received no specific grant from any funding agency.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high improvement rates as proof that active soft tissue release or trigger point block works. Because there was no comparison group, these results cannot distinguish the effect of the treatment from natural recovery or placebo.