New imaging technology developed

ROCHESTER, Minn., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists have developed an imaging technology that can definitively diagnose myofascial pain.

An estimated 9 million U.S. men and women suffer myofascial pain syndrome -- a condition marked by pain that permeates muscles in the neck, back and shoulders. The condition is difficult to diagnose and not entirely understood, medical experts said.

But now Mayo Clinic researchers have shown magnetic resonance elastography, or MRE, can produce images of an affected muscle with clarity and insight not possible with magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. While MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed cross-sectional images of the body's internal tissues and organs, an MRE measures the elasticity of the tissue as it is gently vibrated.

"Additional research is necessary, but our findings in this pilot study provide a strong basis to suspect that MRE technology can identify changes in muscle tone and stiffness that could previously only be identified by physical examination by a physician or a therapist," said Dr. Jeffrey Basford, an author of the study. "Prior to these findings, we did not have a good diagnostic test for myofascial pain syndrome."

The research appeared in the November issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.