Tender point injections are beneficial in fibromyalgia syndrome: A descriptive, open study

Objective: Efficacy of tender point [TeP] injections in fibromyalgia syndro me [FMS] has not been well described in the literature. The goal of our stu dy was to determine the extent of benefit from such injections in this synd rome 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% li docaine and 1/4 ml intralesional triamcinolone diacetate suspension, and pr ospectively followed for a mean period of 66 [range 14-240] weeks. All pati ents were asked to maintain a diary to record the duration of pain relief f rom injections. They continued their usual ther apies. Results: On an average, 3.97 injections per visit were performed. Mean dura tion 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 po stinjection flare in one patient. No demographic or clinical variables at i nitial consultation were associated with duration of pain relief, with the exception of anxiety and depression scores, which were negatively correlate d [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, f urther studies in the future are indicated.