Pressure-Controlled Palpation: A New Technique Which Increases the Reliability of Manual Palpation

Autor: Bendtsen, L, Jensen, R, Jensen, NK, Olesen, J
Zdroj: Cephalalgia; June 1995, Vol. 15 Issue: 3 p205-210, 6p
Abstrakt: The objective of the present study was to investigate whether the reliability of tenderness evaluation can be increased by using a new technique called “pressure-controlled palpation” (pcp). The technique has been made possible by a newly invented piece of equipment called a palpometer, with which a pressure-sensitive plastic film attached to the index finger records the pressure exerted. In 15 patients with chronic tension-type headache and in 15 healthy volunteers, 2 investigators studied myofascial tenderness using conventional palpation and pressure-controlled palpation. Tenderness was scored on a 4–point scale in each of the examined pericranial regions. The sum of tenderness scores recorded by two observers using conventional palpation differed significantly (p= 0.0003), while results did not differ between observers using pressure-controlled palpation (p= 0.89). During palpation with seven different pressure intensities a positive and linear relation between pressure and pain intensity was found (p= 0.00006). Pain intensity reported by the subjects correlated highly with tenderness scored by the observer (rs= 0.95, p< 0.0001). These results demonstrate for the first time that tenderness scores can be compared between observers if palpation pressure is controlled. Pressure-controlled palpation represents a major improvement on current palpation techniques and should be standard in future research on myofascial pain disorders.
Databáze: Supplemental Index