Tender Point Injections Are Beneficial in Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Descriptive, Open Study

Abstract

Objective: Efficacy of tender point [TeP] injections in fibromyalgia syndrome [FMS] has not been well described in the literature. The goal of our study was to determine the extent of benefit from such injections in this syndrome in the usual clinical practice setting.

Methods: Tender points at most symptomatic sites of forty-one patients with FMS, 40 females and one male, were injected with a mixture of 1/2 ml 1% lidocaine and 1/4 ml intralesional triamcinolone diacetate suspension, and prospectively followed for a mean period of 66 [range 14–240] weeks. All patients were asked to maintain a diary to record the duration of pain relief from injections. They continued their usual therapies.

Results: On an average, 3.97 injections per visit were performed. Mean duration of pain relief per injection site was 13.1±9.4 weeks, excluding a single outlier patient. Only one patient failed to obtain any relief at any injected site. There were no side-effects with the exception of a brief postinjection flare in one patient. No demographic or clinical variables at initial consultation were associated with duration of pain relief, with the exception of anxiety and depression scores, which were negatively correlated [P < 0.001].

Conclusion: Our prospective but open study demonstrates that TeP injections are a useful and safe adjunct to other forms of therapy in FMS. However, further studies in the future are indicated.

KEYWORDS:

• Fibromyalgia syndrome
• tender point injections