trigger point therapy
What is trigger point therapy?
Trigger points are highly localized, hyper-irritable spots in skeletal muscle, often seen as “knots” in the muscle. These knots, or nodules in taut bands of muscle fiber, can be tender, painful, and even cause “referred pain” — ache in other body parts along the same fascia and muscle, but distinct and seemingly unrelated to the knotted muscle.
Trigger points cause a compression of the capillaries, localized loss of blood circulation, and subsequently a release of chemicals that augment pain sensation. When one muscle is weakened by this extended shortening, surrounding muscles may overcompensate, resulting in additional trigger points.
Trigger point therapy is the process of diagnosing complaints related to or caused by trigger points, and selecting appropriate therapeutic methods to alleviate or correct the trigger points. Therapy methods include deep tissue massage, myofascial release, shiatsu massage, frequency-specific microcurrent, NMT, and others.
What does trigger point therapy do for me?
Trigger points may be implicated in (or at least subsequent to) virtually any chiropractic complaint and many others:
- Neck, back, shoulder, leg, and knee pain
- Headaches, stiff neck, jaw pain
- Muscle spasms
- Chronic stress
- Acute localized pain
- Fatigue
- Accidents and injury
How does trigger point therapy work?
Prior to treatment, the doctor, healer or therapist will identify trigger points both through diagnostic conversation and physical assessment. Once trigger points are identified, treatment methods such as myofascial release, deep tissue massage, frequency-specific microcurrent therapy, and shiatsu massage will be used to release the points.
