Validation of a Pressure Pain Threshold Scale in Patients Diagnosed With Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Fibromyalgia

To date, there are no valid and reliable pressure pain threshold scales for use in research or clinical practice. The existing manual palpation protocols and scales have limited support in the literature and our knowledge has not advanced since these scales were proposed in the 1990's. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to develop a valid and reliable PPTS in order to provide an objective means of assessing pressure pain thresholds and create a reliable method of communication among clinicians for individuals with a diagnoses characterized by MPS and FM. These conditions were chosen based on their high prevalence among chronic pain conditions and are also dependent upon the manual palpation examination for their diagnosis.