Department of Physical Therapy, Hungkuang University, Taichung 433304, Taiwan.
Taiwan Myopain Academic Association, Tainan 704032, Taiwan.
Sensors (Basel). 2024 Jan 23;24(3):718. doi: 10.3390/s24030718.
Needle electromyogram (EMG) research has suggested that endplate noise (EPN) is a characteristic of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs). Although several studies have observed MTrPs through ultrasonography, whether they are hyperechoic or hypoechoic in ultrasound images is still controversial. Therefore, this study determined the echogenicity of MTrP ultrasonography. In stage 1, the MTrP of rat masseter muscle was identified through palpation and marked. Needle EMG was performed to detect the presence of EPN. When EPN was detected, ultrasound scans and indwelling needles were used to identify the nodule with a different grayscale relative to that of its surrounding tissue, and the echogenicity of the identified MTrP was determined. In stage 2, these steps were reversed. An ultrasound scan was performed to detect the nodule at the marked site, and an EMG needle was inserted into the nodule to detect EPN. There were 178 recordings in each stage, obtained from 45 rats. The stage 1 results indicate that the MTrPs in ultrasound images were hypoechoic with a 100% sensitivity of assessment. In stage 2, the accuracy and precision of MTrP detection through ultrasonography were 89.9% and 89.2%, respectively. The results indicate that ultrasonography produces highly accurate and precise MTrP detection results.
针极肌电图（EMG）研究表明，终板噪声（EPN）是肌筋膜触发点（MTrP）的特征。虽然有几项研究通过超声观察到了 MTrP，但它们在超声图像中是高回声还是低回声仍存在争议。因此，本研究旨在确定 MTrP 超声的回声特征。在第一阶段，通过触诊和标记来识别大鼠咬肌的 MTrP。进行针极 EMG 以检测 EPN 的存在。当检测到 EPN 时，使用超声扫描和留置针来识别与周围组织灰度不同的结节，并确定所识别的 MTrP 的回声特征。在第二阶段，这些步骤被颠倒。进行超声扫描以检测标记部位的结节，并将 EMG 针插入结节以检测 EPN。每个阶段有 178 个记录，来自 45 只大鼠。第一阶段的结果表明，MTrP 在超声图像中呈低回声，评估的敏感性为 100%。在第二阶段，超声检测 MTrP 的准确性和精密度分别为 89.9%和 89.2%。结果表明，超声能够产生高度准确和精确的 MTrP 检测结果。
