Shang S, Liu Y, Bai QL, Zhang Z, Liu J, Qi F. Latent myofascial trigger point injection improves symptoms in functional gastrointestinal disorders. World J Gastrointest Surg 2025; 17(12): 111359 [PMID: 41479720 DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i12.111359]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Feng Qi, MD, Department of Anesthesiology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, No. 107 Wenhua Xi Road, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China. 198962001111@sdu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Prospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Dec 27, 2025 (publication date) through Mar 5, 2026
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Journal Information of This Article
Publication Name
World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
ISSN
1948-9366
Publisher of This Article
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Shang S, Liu Y, Bai QL, Zhang Z, Liu J, Qi F. Latent myofascial trigger point injection improves symptoms in functional gastrointestinal disorders. World J Gastrointest Surg 2025; 17(12): 111359 [PMID: 41479720 DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i12.111359]
Shuo Shang, Yu Liu, Jing Liu, Feng Qi, Department of Anesthesiology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China
Shuo Shang, Qing-Lin Bai, Zhong Zhang, Department of Anesthesiology, Ji’nan Zhangqiu District People’s Hospital, Jinan 250200, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Shang S, Liu Y, Bai QL, and Zhang Z were responsible for patient recruitment, trigger point identification, and injection procedures; Shang S and Qi F conceived and designed the study; Liu Y and Liu J drafted the initial manuscript; Liu J performed data curation, statistical analysis, and interpretation; Qi F supervised the overall study conduct and provided administrative support. All authors contributed to critical revision of the manuscript and approved the final version.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University (Approval No. KYLL-202306-011).
Clinical trial registration statement: This study has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry under the registration No. ChiCTR2100050013.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their inclusion in the study. All participants were fully informed about the purpose, procedures, potential risks, and benefits of the study and were assured that their participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw at any time without any consequences.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available beyond those presented in this article.
Corresponding author: Feng Qi, MD, Department of Anesthesiology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, No. 107 Wenhua Xi Road, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China. 198962001111@sdu.edu.cn
Received: August 1, 2025 Revised: September 15, 2025 Accepted: October 29, 2025 Published online: December 27, 2025 Processing time: 146 Days and 1 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Latent myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) are emerging therapeutic targets for functional gastrointestinal disorders. This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness and safety of abdominal wall MTrP injection compared to oral medication. The injection group showed significantly greater improvements in gastrointestinal symptom scores (Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, Irritable Bowel Syndrome Severity Scoring System scales), quality of life and reduced emergency drug use. Adverse events were fewer and milder than in the control group. This study suggests that latent MTrP injection is a safe, minimally invasive, and promising treatment strategy for functional gastrointestinal disorders, potentially offering a novel approach to symptom relief beyond conventional pharmacotherapy.
