Extracorporeal shockwave treatment for myofascial pain syndrome and fibromyalgia

Condition or disease:

• Fibromyalgia
• Myofascial Pain Syndrome
• MSK: Chronic Pain Syndromes (E.G. Fibromyalgia)
• Central Sensitization

Fibromyalgia syndrome is a common debilitating disorder associated primarily with generalized pain, emotional distress, and cognitive symptoms. Its etiology is unknown, and no specific treatment is available to date.

Shock waves have recently been used successfully to treat pain in skeletal muscles, tendons and fascia, so investigators hypothesize that shock waves will be helpful in relieving fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FPS) is a common debilitating disorder associated primarily with generalized pain, emotional distress and cognitive symptoms. Its etiology is unknown, and no specific treatment is available to date.

It has some similarities to another more localized clinical condition: myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), which results from pain caused by, among other things, muscle trigger points.

Recently, both FPS and MPS have been subsumed under a new, larger entity: central sensitization syndrome (CSS), in which an intense, chronic peripherally sensitive stimulus (e.g., musculoskeletal pain) is thought to induce an enhanced central nervous system (CNS) response to the same stimulus after a period of time, resulting in a more intense sensation of the stimulus (central sensitization, CS). This is secondary to neuroplastic changes in the CNS and is to some extent reversible.

Because shock waves are effective in treating pain in MPS (by removing trigger points and thus restoring muscle and tissue function), and because MPS and FPS may be linked by a common pathophysiological mechanism (CSS), the investigators hypothesize that shock waves may be beneficial in treating pain in FPS.

Extracorporeal Shockwave Treatment (ESWT) offers a new and promising treatment for muscular disorders.