The 696 muscles of the body make up the largest organ of the human body and yet the pain and dysfunction of the muscles and the tissue wrapped around them (myofascial) remains poorly understood and frequently overlooked.
Muscles are prone to wear and tear damage, and will tend to respond by forming small points of tightness or irritability. Identifying and releasing these muscles can lead to better joint function and resolution of pain.
Trigger point therapy entails the placement of direct pressure, laser light or a ‘dry’ or ‘wet’ needle into the irritable zone to cause a release of tension in the muscle.
Releasing trigger points can make the difference between partial improvement in pain full conditions to full restoration of function and resolution of pain.
Examples of trigger point pain:
- Pain around the shoulder blade (scapula) arising from trigger points in neck muscles (scalenes) or upper back muscles.
- Treatment of tennis elbow and golfers elbow need treatment of the tendon injury and will also need release of the trigger points from neck to wrist to return to full function.
- Headaches can resolve after trigger point treatments to the neck and thorasic muscles.