Ultrasound-Guided Inactivation of Trigger Points Combined with Muscle Fascia Stripping by Liquid Knife in Treatment of Postherpetic Neuralgia Complicated with Abdominal Myofascial Pain Syndrome: A Prospective and Controlled Clinical Study

Objective To evaluate ultrasound-guided inactivation of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) combined with abdominal muscle fascia stripping by liquid knife in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) complicated with abdominal myofascial pain syndrome (AMPS). Methods From January 2015 to July 2018, non-head-and-neck PHN patients in the Pain Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, were treated with routine oral drugs and weekly paraspinal nerve block for two weeks. Patients with 2   2 proceeded to secondary treatment. If the VAS score was  2 was regarded as recurrence. Results At one week after primary treatment, the effective rate was 66.7% in PL group, significantly higher than that in PA group (15.2%, P 0.05). At follow-up at 3 months after treatment, the recurrence rate was low in each group, with no significant difference between the groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion About 57% of PHN patients with mild to moderate pain are complicated with MPS, and ultrasound-guided inactivation of MTrPs with dry and wet needling can effectively treat PHN patients complicated with LMPS. However, patients with PHN complicated with AMPS need to be treated with ultrasound-guided MTrPs inactivation combined with muscle fascia stripping by liquid knife as soon as possible.