CHRONIC REGIONAL MUSCULAR PAIN IN WOMEN WITH PRECISE MANIPULATION WORK - A STUDY OF PAIN CHARACTERISTICS, MUSCLE FUNCTION, AND IMPACT ON DAILY ACTIVITIES
Kg. Henriksson et al., CHRONIC REGIONAL MUSCULAR PAIN IN WOMEN WITH PRECISE MANIPULATION WORK - A STUDY OF PAIN CHARACTERISTICS, MUSCLE FUNCTION, AND IMPACT ON DAILY ACTIVITIES, Scandinavian journal of rheumatology, 25(4), 1996, pp. 213-223
Pain characteristics, muscle function and impact on daily activities w
ere studied in 39 women with chronic regional muscular pain (RMP). The
y were all blue-collar workers in work involving precise manipulations
. The main location of the pain was in the neck-shoulder region. Ninet
een age-matched women with fibromyalgia (FM) were studied in the same
way as the RMP patients. Thirty-seven women with no pain and with the
same age and weight as the RMP patients served as reference group with
respect to muscle strength and endurance. A follow-up study was done
with respect to pain distribution and other pain characteristics 20 mo
nths after the initial examination. The findings were of the same natu
re in the RMP and the FM groups. The intensity of pain, the lowering o
f pain threshold for pressure, and the degree of sleep disturbance wer
e greater in the FM than in the RMP group. Isometric muscle strength a
nd static muscular endurance were reduced in both FM and RMP compared
to reference values. The reduction in strength and endurance was great
er in FM than in RMP. Even if the impact on everyday activities were g
reater in FM than in RMP, the impact was substantial in RMP patients a
lso, for example with regard to work capacity. There were no transitio
ns from RMP to FM during the 20 months to follow-up. Three FM patients
, however, did not meet the ACR criteria for FM at follow-up.