When stressed or injured, muscles often form Trigger Points (TrP’s). These can be described as a hyper-irritable spot or sensitive area in the muscle or connective tissue (fascia) that become painful when compressed. People generally refer to them as “knots” and these can be the size of a pinhead or a pea but may also be as big as a golf ball.
Trigger Points are an extremely common cause of pain and have a unique ability to “refer” pain. Referred pain means that a trigger point in one muscle can create pain in another area. For instance, a trigger point in the top of the shoulder (the trapezius) will refer pain up the side of the neck and head causing a headache.
Trigger Points can occur for many reasons including:
- Repetitive overuse injuries
- Sustained loading of the muscles
- Habitually poor posture
- Muscle tensing and clenching due to mental and emotional stress
- Direct injury
- Prolonged inactivity
Left unaddressed, in time other muscles around the dysfunctional one may be required to “take up the slack”, becoming stressed and developing secondary trigger points.
Not all trigger points are active. Latent trigger points can exist in the body causing no pain at all and are very common. Unless they are pressed you may not know you have one and they can stick around for many years until something happens to activate it. Latent trigger points can be responsible for:
- Restricted movement
- Different muscle movement patterns
- Stiffness or weakness in the affected muscles
To treat trigger points direct pressure is applied at the point of tension and held for 15-20 seconds. At the same time, I work with the client to ensure the pressure remains within a comfortable pain threshold as experiencing acute pain can be counter-productive with this technique. This releases the bound tissue, reducing tension and pain. The muscles can then move more freely resulting in greater comfort, improved mobility and a reduction in pain.