Trigger Points of Supraspinatus Muscle: Osteopaths' Palpation Reproductibility and Ultrasound Translation

Overview

Trigger points (TP) are described as "hard, palpable nodules located within the taut bands of skeletal muscle" (Bardoni, 2022). The aim of this study is to evaluate the reproductibility of palpation of TP between osteopaths and to compare this perception to ultrasound measures of echogenicity. Method: A sample of 61 patients will be included in the study. An osteopath will determine the eligibility of the study. The supraclavicular area will be mark every 2 cm to establish a grid for all evaluations. First an osteopath will evaluate with palpation the presence of TP at every box of the grid. A second osteopath will evaluate the same boxes and will be blinded to the result of the first osteopath. At each step of palpation, a pain assessment will be carried out at each box. Then, the ultrasound technician will evaluate the echogeneicity of every box and will be blinded to the prior results. The protocol will be approve by a french ethic committee.

sensitivity and specificity of osteopathic tests will be conducted in comparaison to echograph results (a binary outcomes assessing the presence of an hypoechogenicity). The reproductibility of osteopaths' tests will be be calculated using Cohen's kappa weighted by the distance between the TPs found. Finally, the pain reported by patients on areas with a TP defined by the osteopath, and the pain reported by patients on areas without a TP defined by the osteopath will be compared using a student test.

Conditions

Interventions