A study to compare the efficacy of saline versus traumeel injecting in terms of pain reduction in patients suffering from myofascial pain syndrome

M.Tech. (Homoeopathy)Myofascial pain syndrome is a common yet one of the least understood problems encountered in adults. It often goes unrecognised, misdiagnosed and mistreated. There are many effective treatments to date, however there is very little research to substantiate which of these treatments are the most effective. Unfortunately there is no known research available into the effectiveness ofa Homoeopathic remedy in the treatment ofmyofascial pain. The aim of this double blind randomised study is to prove whether Saline or Traumeel (a complex Homoeopathic remedy) injected into an active trigger point would prove to be effective in tenus of pain relief. Patients presenting with head and neck pain were considered for this study. Only patients that adhered to the specified delimitations and diagnostic criteria were accepted. The sample size of twenty patients was divided randomly into two groups, consisting often patients each. Group A received saline injections and Group B received Traumeel injections. Only active trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle were injected. The treatment period consisted oftwo injections administered one week apart. The neck pain and disability index (questionnaire) and the numerical rating scale collected data concerning each patient's pain. Patients were also required to draw their pain on body charts. Data was analysed statistically, showing the mean decrease in pain expressed as a percentage for each group. A level of confidence was set at 95% for each group. Results were displayed with the aid of graphs. Each group shows significant improvement with regards to pain reduction. However Traumeel shows a greater percentage decrease in pain compared to Saline. Therefore in terms of pain management in myofascial pain of the upper trapezius muscle, Traumeel is slightly more effective than Saline