THE SKINACHE SYNDROME

Chronic pain of unknown aetiology, and characterized by cutaneous trig ger points, has been coined the skinache syndrome. The treatment of th e skinache syndrome was evaluated in 94 patients by two independent me thods 2 years after treatment, After one subcutaneous injection of lid ocaine 68% of the patients were cured. The pain recurred in 27 patient s having suffered for an average of 2 years. Surgical removal of the c utaneous trigger points cured 77% of the latter patients. The odds rat io of success of surgical treatment versus all other treatments combin ed was 101.3. The skinache syndrome requires a precise clinical invest igation. Even when the origin of the pain in tendons, muscle and adipo se tissue is excluded, the skinache syndrome remains a common, debilit ating disorder. in contrast to fibromyalgia, the skinache syndrome has a simple and effective cure.