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Myofascial Pain Syndrome (or MPS) is a term used to describe one of the conditions characterized by chronic pain. The term may be a misnomer, since there is no evidence that there is any abnormality of the muscles or fascia. It is associated with and characterized by "trigger points" (TrPs), sensitive and painful areas between the muscle and fascia. The symptoms can range from referred pain through myofascial trigger points to specific pains in other areas of the body.
The MPS is probably closely related to a better characterized condition known as the Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FS). The principal difference between the two conditions seems to be the distribution of the reported pain. By accepted definition, the pain of Fibromyalgia is generalized,occurring above and below the waist and on both sides of the body. On the other hand, myofascial pain is more often described as occurring in a more limited area of the body, for example, only around the shoulder and neck, and on only one side of the body.
Neither MPS or FS is thought to be an inflammatory or degenerative condition, and the best evidence suggests that the problem is one of an altered pain threshold, with more pain reported for a given amount of painful stimuli. This altered pain threshold can be manifest as increased muscle tenderness, especially in the certain areas, e.g., the trapezius muscle. These syndromes tend to occur more often in women than in men, and the pain may be associated with fatigue and sleep disturbances.
These are not psychological syndromes, nor exaggerated, nor imagined; the pain and associated symptoms are real. The precise cause is still mysterious according to western medicine.
A fairly new form of therapy called Myofascial Release is bringing new paradigms on the origin of pain and disease enabling cure through the use of gentle fascia manipulation techniques.
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