Trigger points: Update of the clinical aspects

Myofascial Trigger points often constitute an extremely important element within the clinical syndromes of painful condition. Nevertheless in literature the term myofascial trigger point (TrP) and its related clinical features are often used in a general non-specific way. The effective treatment of TrPs determines a significant reduction of the pain as pointed out by several authors. Our review tries to establish some evidence-based recommendations for the assessment of the clinical signs specifically related to TrP. Several authors point out the efficacy of different therapeutic approaches in reducing pain and improving functional limitations. To be effective, such practices require a high level of specific training for identifying TrPs. Our review was conducted on Medline, Embase and Pedro database without time restriction using the following keywords: myofascial trigger point, trigger point, physical examination, interrater reliability. Despite of high number of papers retrieved, only a few articles were focused on the assessment topic. Nevertheless some signs could be considered as useful basic tool within the diagnostic process of the management of myofascial pain syndromes (MPS) associated with TrPs.