Trigger Point Therapy

By: Ben Crabtree, LMT,

In my San Antonio, Texas Massage and Bodywork practice many of the people that come in to my office for treatment are seeking someone to help them with their muscular pain and chronic tension from trigger points. Not all of these people have heard of Trigger Point Therapy but some have heard that Trigger Point Therapy is an effective method of naturally relieving their muscular pain. What they've heard is absolutely true.

Like many Massage Therapists around the world, I use Trigger Point Therapy when trigger points are present in a person's muscles. Trigger points are hyperirritable, highly contracted spots in muscles associated with a palpable "knot" or "taut band" in the muscle tissue. Trigger Points are almost always painful on compression and have the interesting ability to refer pain and tenderness to other areas of the body. Trigger Points are usually ischemic and often cause an entire muscle to be painful, too tight, weak, and more easily fatigued. Trigger Points can result from overworking or overstressing muscles, direct macro trauma or repeated micro trauma to muscles, or sustained chills. Sometimes a type of trigger point called a Satellite Trigger Point is created in a muscle that is subjected to referred pain from another trigger point. Trigger Points are often either the cause of, or a contributing factor to, a wide variety of painful conditions.

Trigger Point Therapy directly targets the trigger points and the muscles in which they're found. In Trigger Point Therapy the Massage Therapist carefully seeks out the trigger points in a muscle with their fingers and uses specific compression techniques, friction strokes, and stretches which make the trigger points release and seemingly melt away. The release of the trigger point usually results in a rapid decrease or complete elimination of muscular pain as well as a change in tension and strength of the muscle. Trigger Point Therapy is a versatile massage therapy technique and is often used to treat pain of the low back and upper back, Jaw (TMJ) pain, headaches and migraines, whiplash, tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, hip pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, piriformis syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, and more. Trigger Point Therapy can be used by itself as a stand-alone pain relief treatment, or it can be used during many types of massage including Swedish massage, Sports massage, or Medical massage and as part of Neuromuscular Therapy or Deep Tissue Massage procedures.

Now that you know what it is you should know that Trigger Point Therapy does have a reputation as being a painful type of massage therapy to receive. However, despite its reputation as a "no pain, no gain" type of massage therapy technique Trigger Point Therapy can be quite comfortable to receive when performed correctly. Some trigger point therapy clients may experience brief periods with some mild discomfort during the treatment. This mild discomfort is often described by people receiving Trigger Point Therapy as a "good pain" that rates low on a standard pain scale. Often this "good pain" is actually welcomed by those receiving this very effective work.

If you’re unfortunate enough to be suffering with acute or chronic muscular pain and tension you should find a Licensed and/or Certified Massage Therapist skilled in Trigger Point Therapy and try it. It’s natural and it’s very effective. Besides, you have nothing to lose except your pain.

About the Author:
Ben Crabtree is a Licensed Massage Therapist, Massage Instructor, and Certified Neuromuscular Therapist in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Crabtree can be reached through his website massagebyben.com.