Keating L, Lubke C, Powell V, Young T, Souvlis T, Jull G
Department of Physiotherapy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
Man Ther. 2001 Feb;6(1):34-9. doi: 10.1054/math.2000.0377.
Palpation for tenderness forms an important part of the manual therapy assessment for musculoskeletal dysfunction. In conjunction with other testing procedures it assists in establishing the clinical diagnosis. Tenderness in the thoracic spine has been reported in the literature as a clinical feature in musculoskeletal conditions where pain and dysfunction are located primarily in the upper quadrant. This study aimed to establish whether pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) of the mid-thoracic region of asymptomatic subjects were naturally lower than those of the cervical and lumbar areas. A within-subject study design was used to examine PPT at four spinal levels C6, T4, T6, and L4 in 50 asymptomatic volunteers. Results showed significant (P<0.001) regional differences. PPT values increased in a caudal direction. The cervical region had the lowest PPT scores, that is was the most tender. Values increased in the thoracic region and were highest in the lumbar region. This study contributes to the normative data on spinal PPT values and demonstrates that mid-thoracic tenderness relative to the cervical spine is not a normal finding in asymptomatic subjects.
触诊压痛是肌肉骨骼功能障碍手法治疗评估的重要组成部分。与其他测试程序相结合，它有助于确立临床诊断。文献报道，胸椎压痛是肌肉骨骼疾病的一种临床特征，这些疾病的疼痛和功能障碍主要位于上象限。本研究旨在确定无症状受试者胸中段区域的压力疼痛阈值（PPT）是否自然低于颈椎和腰椎区域。采用受试者内研究设计，对50名无症状志愿者的四个脊柱水平（C6、T4、T6和L4）进行PPT检测。结果显示存在显著的（P<0.001）区域差异。PPT值向尾端方向增加。颈椎区域的PPT得分最低，即最敏感。胸椎区域的值增加，腰椎区域的值最高。本研究为脊柱PPT值的规范数据做出了贡献，并表明在无症状受试者中，相对于颈椎，胸中段压痛并非正常表现。
