The Immediate Effects of Lidocaine Iontophoresis on Trigger-Point Pain
Objective:To assess the efficacy of lidocaine iontophoresis on myofascial trigger-point pain.Setting:University athletic training facility.Design:Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeated-measures.Subjects:Twenty-three subjects with sensitive trigger points over the trapezius.Intervention:Placebo iontophoresis treatment without current or lidocaine, control treatment using distilled water and normal current dose, medicated treatment using 1% lidocaine and normal current dose.Main Outcome Measure:Trigger-point pressure threshold assessed with an algometer.Results:ANOVA revealed a significant difference among treatments (F2,40= 7.38,P< .01). Post hoc comparisons revealed a significant difference in pressure threshold between the lidocaine treatment and the control (P= .01) and placebo (P= .001) treatments. Effect sizes of .28 and .39, respectively, were found for these comparisons.Conclusions:Although the data revealed significant differences between treatments, the small effect sizes and magnitude of the pressure-sensitivity deviation scores suggest that iontophoresis with 1% lidocaine is ineffective in treating trigger points.