Instrumented assisted soft tissue mobilization vs extracorporeal shock wave therapy in treatment of myofascial pain syndrome

Table 1 Descriptive statistics for the mean values of age, weight, height, body mass index, and sex distribution of all patients in both groups

	Group A	Group B	t value	P value	Significance
	n = 20	n = 20
Age in yr	31.20 ± 4.15	29.10 ± 5.12	1.43	0.16	NS
Weight	72.55 ± 7.65	73.35 ± 14.23	-0.22	0.83	NS
Height	168.40 ± 5.90	169.05 ± 9.83	-0.25	0.80	NS
BMI in kg/m2	25.50 ± 2.25	24.80 ± 2.29	0.98	0.34	NS
Sex distribution	20% male and 80% female	40% male and 60% female	χ2 = 1.91	0.17	NS

NS: Non-significant; BMI: Body mass index. Group A: Patients treated with instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization; Group B: Patients treated with extracorporeal shock wave therapy.

Table 2 Independent t-test for comparison of pre- and post-treatment mean values between both groups

Treatment period	Group A	Group B	t value	P value	Significance
	n = 20	n = 20
Pre-treatment
Pain intensity for TrP1	6.05 ± 1.90	6.38 ± 1.50	-0.61	0.55	NS
Pain intensity for TrP2	7.15 ± 1.90	7.20 ± 1.56	-0.08	0.94	NS
PPT for TrP1	17.08 ± 4.99	14.83 ± 5.31	1.38	0.18	NS
PPT for TrP2	15.72 ± 5.75	14.68 ± 6.13	0.55	0.58	NS
Post-treatment
Pain intensity for TrP1	3.75 ± 1.69	3.82 ± 1.53	-0.13	0.9	NS
Pain intensity for TrP2	4.06 ± 1.45	3.93 ± 1.22	0.31	0.76	NS
PPT for TrP1	30.75 ± 18.12	22.82 ± 9.55	1.7	0.09	NS
PPT for TrP2	27.93 ± 9.90	28.29 ± 10.08	-0.11	0.91	NS

Data are presented as mean ± SD unless otherwise indicated. NS: Non-significant; PPT: Pressure pain threshold; TrP: Trigger point. Group A: Patients treated with instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization; Group B: Patients treated with extracorporeal shock wave therapy.

Table 3 Paired t-test comparison for pre- and post-treatment mean values of all variables for all group (A and B) patients

Group	Pre-treatment	Post-treatment	t value	P value	Significance
	n = 20	n = 20
Group A
Pain intensity for TrP1	6.05 ± 1.90	3.75 ± 1.69	6.55	0.00011	HS
Pain intensity for TrP2	7.15 ± 1.90	4.06 ± 1.45	8.32	0.00011	HS
PPT for TrP1	17.08 ± 4.99	30.75 ± 18.12	-3.51	0.0021	Sig
PPT for TrP2	15.72 ± 5.75	27.93 ± 9.90	-6.97	0.00011	HS
Group B
Pain intensity for TrP1	6.38 ± 1.5	3.82 ± 1.53	9.56	0.00011	HS
Pain intensity for TrP2	7.20 ± 1.56	3.93 ± 1.22	12.82	0.00011	HS
PPT for TrP1	14.83 ± 5.31	22.82 ± 9.55	-5.86	0.00011	HS
PPT for TrP2	14.68 ± 6.13	28.29 ± 10.08	-7.03	0.00011	HS

Data are presented as mean ± SD unless otherwise indicated.

¹Statistically significant.

HS: Highly significant; PPT: Pressure pain threshold; Sig: Significance; TrP: Trigger point. Group A: Patients treated with instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization; Group B: Patients treated with extracorporeal shock wave therapy.