Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) are hyperirritable points located within a taut band of skeletal muscle or fascia, which cause referred pain, local tenderness and autonomic changes when compressed. There are fundamental differences between the effects produced by the two basic types of MTrPs (active and latent). Active trigger points (ATrPs) usually produce referred pain and tenderness. In contrast, latent trigger points (LTrPs) are foci of hyperirritability in a taut band of muscle, which are clinically associated with a local twitch response, tenderness and/or referred pain upon manual examination. LTrPs may be found in many pain-free skeletal muscles and may be "activated" and converted to ATrPs by continuous detrimental stimuli. ATrPs can be inactivated by different treatment strategies; however, they never fully disappear but rather convert to the latent form. Therefore, the diagnosis and treatment of LTrPs is important. This review highlights the clinical implication of LTrPs.

The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between physical activity level and anxiety, depression, and functional ability in children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Cross-sectional study design including patients with JIA aged between 8 and 17 years and healthy controls was used. Sociodemographic data and clinical features were assessed. Physical activity level and energy expenditure were assessed with a 1-day activity diary. Anxiety was screened by The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Functional ability was assessed with the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ). Pain and overall well-being were measured using a visual analog scale (VAS). Fifty-two patients and 48 controls were included with a mean age of 12.13 ± 2.92 and 11.27 ± 1.59 years, respectively. The mean disease duration was 64 months. The JIA group had significantly less time in physical activity (p = 0.000), decrease in energy expenditure (p = 0.04), and higher CHAQ scores (p = 0.000) compared with the control group. In the JIA group, significant relationships were found between the number of active joint and disease duration (r = 0.44, p = 0.000) and VAS pain (r = 0.30, p = 0.02), between SCARED and CDI (r = 0.54, p = 0.000). Significant relationships were found between VAS overall well-being and CDI (r = 0.29, p = 0.03), CHAQ (r = 0.37, p = 0.000), and VAS pain (r = 0.41, p = 0.000). Correlation between CHAQ and CDI (r = 0.34, p = 0.01) was significant. The result of our study suggested that only depression was related to anxiety, functional ability, and well-being in children and adolescents with JIA.

[Purpose] This study aimed to establish the intrarater reliability and responsiveness of a clinically available algometer in patients with knee osteoarthritis as well as to determine the minimum-detectable-change and standard error of measurement of testing to facilitate clinical interpretation of temporal changes. [Subjects] Seventy-three patients with knee osteoarthritis were included. [Methods] Pressure pain threshold measured by algometry was evaluated 3 times at 2-min intervals over 2 clinically relevant sites—mediolateral to the medial femoral tubercle (distal) and lateral to the medial malleolus (local)—on the same day. Intrarater reliability was estimated by intraclass correlation coefficients. The minimum-detectable-change and standard error of measurement were calculated. As a measure of responsiveness, the effect size was calculated for the results at baseline and after treatment. [Results] The intrarater reliability was almost perfect (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.93–0.97). The standard error of measurement and minimum-detectable-change were 0.70–0.66 and 1.62–1.53, respectively. The pressure pain threshold over the distal site was inadequately responsive in knee osteoarthritis, but the local site was responsive. The effect size was 0.70. [Conclusion] Algometry is reliable and responsive to assess measures of pressure pain threshold for evaluating pain patients with knee osteoarthritis.

This study demonstrates that Kinesio taping resulted in superior short-term effects on walking task, pain, and knee-flexion ROM compared with placebo taping in patients with knee osteoarthritis.