What's a Trigger Point?

Have you ever had pain somewhere on your body, one you rubbed and massaged trying to make it feel better, bul it still hurt? Maybe you had a Profesional massage Therapist work on it and you felt better for a while, but the next thing you knew the same area had your attention again? Chances are you had some Trigger Points.

TPs are contractions in a small part of the muscle. You've probably experienced a muscle spasm where your whole muscle violently contracts, but that's not what I'm referring to. A TP is much smaller, and most of the time you
don't even know iI's there. But when you find it, you KNOW it! If a TP is active enough. just a very light push on one can make you wince and pull away.

You might be wondering "what"s so bad about a TP if it 's so insignificant?"
Well. TPs are sneaky. They cause pain (called referred pain).in other parts of the body, and often in predictable patterns.

I get TPs in my back that make my neck hurt. For years I thought something was wrong with my neck. I would rub, stretch, ice and whatever! Then I went to a Trigger Point Therapy Workshop and learned that two TPs between my shoulder blades were causing discomfort in my neck, up into the back of my skull. Now, when my neck starts aggravating me, I simply get body work done by a Massage Therapist trained in Trigger Point Therapy or I work on those TPs myself and my pain goes away.

TPs can occur in any muscle causing pain anywhere in or on your body. Deactivating the right TPs can help relieve migraine pain to foot pain, and anything in between. If you think you have Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. you should be aware that TPs in specific neck muscles can cause pain and numbness in hands and fingers. I've helped clients with low back pain locate the central TPs causing their pain and showed them how to treat themselves. I always encourage clients to become involved in self treatment.

Don'l make the common mistake of thinking that TPs are the same thing as Acupressure Points or the Tender Points that accompany Fibromyalgia. (Although, if you have Fibromyalgia, you almost certainly have TPs.)

Trigger Points are different. They can be felt with the fingers and emit distinctive electrical signals. In fact, they have been photographed in muscle tissue with the aid of the electron microscope (Travell and Simons, 1999, p.57-67). TPs are caused by accidents, muscle abuse, postural stress, repetitive movement as well as abnormal bone structure. If you have a fracture, muscle tear, sprain or dislocation, you most likely have TPs.

If you are interested in working on your own TPs or learning more about soft-tissue pain, read The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self Treatment Guide for Pain Relief by Clair Davies, NCTMB. It's a great source of information.

If you are living with pain and think you have tried everything, don't give up yet. Trigger Point Therapy may be your answer!