BACKGROUND Latent trigger points (LTrPs) can be activated by future events, leading to pain. Few studies have reported LTrP risk factors. It has been suggested that alexithymia is associated with myofascial pain and diminished awareness of physical sensation. This study was designed to evaluate the relation between alexithymia and LTrPs found the upper trapezius of healthy individuals. METHODS The correlation between LTrPs and alexithymia, and between LTrPs and depression was analyzed in 160 healthy participants (80 male, mean age: 40.5 years [20 to 66 years]). Each participant was evaluated for potential LTrPs by careful manual examination and completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to assess potential alexithymia and depressive symptoms, respectively. RESULTS LTrPs were observed in the upper trapezius of 76 participants (47.5%). TAS-20 scores were significantly higher in subjects with LTrPs than without LTrPs (p < 0.001); in contrast, there was no significant BDI score difference between these groups (p = 0.451). The LTrP risk for alexithymia was 2.74 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 2.10-3.58). There was no correlation between the TAS-20 and BDI scores (correlation coefficient: -0.04). Significant risk factors associated with LTrPs included the TAS-20 score (odds ratio [OR]: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.07-1.15) and age (OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01-1.09). CONCLUSIONS Alexithymia was associated with LTrPs in the upper trapezius of healthy individuals, suggesting that it may serve as a useful predictive factor. TRIAL REGISTRATION UMIN000027468. Registered 23 May 2017(retrospectively registered).

中文翻译：

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上斜方肌的述情障碍与潜在触发点之间的关系。

背景技术潜在触发点（LTrPs）可以被未来的事件激活，导致疼痛。很少有研究报告 LTrP 风险因素。有人提出述情障碍与肌筋膜疼痛和身体感觉意识减弱有关。本研究旨在评估述情障碍与发现健康个体上斜方肌的 LTrPs 之间的关系。方法 在 160 名健康参与者（80 名男性，平均年龄：40.5 岁 [20 至 66 岁]）中分析 LTrPs 与述情障碍之间以及 LTrPs 与抑郁症之间的相关性。通过仔细的人工检查评估每位参与者的潜在 LTrP，并完成多伦多述情障碍量表 20 (TAS-20) 和贝克抑郁量表 (BDI) 以分别评估潜在的述情障碍和抑郁症状。结果 在 76 名参与者 (47.5%) 的斜方肌上部观察到 LTrP。有 LTrP 的受试者的 TAS-20 分数显着高于没有 LTrP 的受试者（p < 0.001）；相比之下，这些组之间没有显着的 BDI 评分差异 (p = 0.451)。述情障碍的 LTrP 风险为 2.74（95% 置信区间 [95% CI]：2.10-3.58）。TAS-20 和 BDI 评分之间没有相关性（相关系数：-0.04）。与 LTrP 相关的重要危险因素包括 TAS-20 评分（优势比 [OR]：1.11，95% CI：1.07-1.15）和年龄（OR：1.05，95% CI：1.01-1.09）。结论 述情障碍与健康个体上斜方肌的 LTrPs 相关，表明它可能是一个有用的预测因素。试用注册 UMIN000027468。2017 年 5 月 23 日注册（追溯注册）。