OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on pain, function in myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) of the trapezius. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were systematically searched from the time of their inception to September 2019. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of ESWT on MPS of the trapezius were included in this review. DATA EXTRACTION: Data related to study participants, intervention, period of follow up, measure time and outcomes were extracted. The PEDro scale and the Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing risk of bias were used to assess study quality and risk of bias. DATA SYNTHESIS: In total, ten articles (n = 480) met criteria and were included in this study. The overall effectiveness was calculated using a meta-analysis method. The meta-analysis revealed that ESWT exhibited significant improvement in pain reduction compared with sham ESWT or ultrasound treatment, but no significant effect when compared with conventional treatments (dry needling, trigger point injection, laser therapy) as for pain intensity and neck disability index. CONCLUSIONS: ESWT appears to benefit patients with MPS of the trapezius by alleviating pain. ESWT may not be an ideal therapeutic method to replace conventional therapies but could serve as an adjunct therapeutic method to those treatments.

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