Abstract

BENITEZ JIMENEZ, M et al. Myofascial pain syndrome as a cause of postoperative acute pain in hip surgery. Rev. Soc. Esp. Dolor [online]. 2019, vol.26, n.2, pp.117-119.  Epub Mar 23, 2020. ISSN 1134-8046.  https://dx.doi.org/10.20986/resed.2019.3655/2018.

Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a regional pain of muscular origin, usually presents as a cause of chronic pain, being a pathology not uncommon in the consultations of the Pain Unit. The present work refers to the case of a patient undergoing hip arthroplasty who developed an MDS in the immediate postoperative period, thus generating a situation of acute postoperative pain. In this clinical case reference is made to the great importance of a correct differential diagnosis for the treatment of a painful syndrome

As is known, patients undergoing joint replacement surgery experience intense and sustained postoperative pain if adequate perioperative analgesia is not carried out. Poor pain control would prevent early recovery and discharge from the patient. In the case in question, the control of perioperative pain was carried out satisfactorily, and it was not until the third day postintervention when an inguinal pain irradiated to the thigh and knee appeared that it was accompanied by muscular spasms to the mobilization. Coinciding this fact with the beginning of the rehabilitation of the member

Until the final diagnosis was reached, first the causes attributable to the prosthesis itself (dislocation, friction, malposition ...) were discarded, later a possible nerve injury that could have occurred during the surgical act was ruled out and finally, after the evaluation for the Pain Unit, a possible myofascial syndrome with involvement of the right psoas muscle was suspected and treated as such.

For the treatment of the condition, a muscle infiltration was performed with 40 mg of Triamcinilone and 5 ml of 0.25% levobupivacaine. The location was made by fluoroscopy and water-soluble contrast. After the procedure, a clear symptomatic improvement was obtained, and the patient could begin the rehabilitation of the limb again. After 4 days of infiltration with local anesthetic and corticosteroids, the patient presented pain similar to the previous one, so it was decided to perform infiltrations of the right psoas muscle with 100 IU of botulinum toxin, in addition to repeating the dose of local anesthetic and corticosteroids already done previously, with the aim of controlling the pain in the window period that is required until the botulinum toxin takes effect, obtaining satisfactory results.

As we have already said, the pain attributed to the myofascial syndrome usually presents as a chronic pain, although in the present case it debuted in the immediate postoperative period, presenting itself acutely. In the literature reviewed, only one case of MS has been described in the postoperative period of hip arthroplasty, the occurrence of this syndrome being more frequent in knee arthroplasty. There is no clear cause to explain the reason for the syndrome. In knee arthroplasty, intraoperative ischemia is discussed as a possible triggering factor for PG, although this is not proven.

Keywords : Myofascial pain syndrome; trigger point; hip arthroplasty; acute postoperative pain.

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