Trigger points can be implicated in a wide range of common conditions that involve chronic pain, including sciatica, plantar fasciitis, low back pain, trigger finger and frozen shoulder, to name a few.
According to Steve Jurch, Director of Allied Health Training at the Community College of Baltimore County, trigger points are typically caused by three types of muscle overload: acute, sustained and repetitive. “These types of muscle overload can occur in a variety of settings, including occupational and athletic settings, and can also result from underlying pathologies,” he explains.
What is a Trigger Point:
Trigger points appear to be tiny areas of ‘cramp-like’ contraction within a muscle. It may cause the muscle itself to tighten, and adjacent muscles to tighten as well. Pain may also be referred to a completely different area of the body. These tight muscles can limit movement around a joint and can cause more pain.
A good visual analogy would be:
“It’s like taking a 12-inch piece of rope and tying knots in it until it’s only 10 inches long. You can easily understand what’s happening. The knot is getting tighter and the fibres on either side of the knot are being overstretched.”
How can massage help:
Through conversation, I locate referral patterns of the trigger points to follow the point of pain described by you (the client) back to the originating muscle, locate the trigger point in that muscle and apply direct pressure to release the spasms.
Unlike a relaxing massage, trigger point therapy can be uncomfortable to receive, especially while applying the direct pressure on the trigger point. I always explain to clients that it’s very important that you tell me immediately if the pain is not tolerable so that I can adjust my pressure.
For help managing chronic pain, understanding and being able to treat trigger points can sometimes make all the difference. I have been using trigger point release techniques in my practice for years with great success at alleviating, often stubborn, and chronic pain.
