title: Signs and Symptoms of Myofascial Pain: An International Survey of Pain Management Providers and Proposed Preliminary Set of Diagnostic Criteria.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS) is highly prevalent in pain medicine, yet there is no "gold standard" or set of validated diagnostic criteria for clinical or research use. A survey collected clinician perspectives on MPS to foster the development of a formal case definition for empirical validation.
  
  
  METHODS
  International survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinician members of the International Association for the Study of Pain and the American Academy of Pain Medicine received a survey of the symptoms and signs of MPS and expected response to treatment. Write-in fields were available for each category and to suggest relevant diagnostic studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred fourteen responses were received from 4,143 surveys mailed. The most essential components of MPS were tender spots that recreate symptoms when palpated. MPS was also associated with muscle stiffness, decreased range of motion of the affected joints, worsening symptoms with stress, palpable taut band or tender nodule, and referred pain with palpation of the tender spot. Diagnostic studies are reported to be useful for ruling out other pathology, but not to confirm the presence of the condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results were used to propose a set of preliminary diagnostic criteria; expert consensus for case definition and subsequent empirical validation are required for standardization in research and clinical management of MPS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
authors.forename: W Evan
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Rivers
authors.affiliation: Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Garrigues
authors.affiliation: Center for Pain Studies, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Graciosa
authors.affiliation: Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.|Center for Pain Studies, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: R Norman
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Harden
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009209:Myofascial Pain Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D010820:Physicians; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Muscle Pain; Myofascial Pain; Signs; Survey; Symptoms