Trigger points (PTs) and muscle ache seems to be cause of chronic muscle pain, fatigue and fibromyalgia these days yet the information about it is extremely dated.
So I wanted to share with you a bits about TPs because they are a major cause of all sorts of pain.
I hope you find this article informative and helpful. And feel free to forward it on to any family, friends or co-workers who you feel could also benefit.
Trigger Points The Real Cause of Chronic Fatigue, Muscle Pain, Fibromyalgia and More Research by Drs. Janet Travell and David Simons, authors of "The Trigger Points Manual," has shown that trigger points are the primary cause of pain at least 75 percent of the time and are a factor in nearly every painful condition.
TP, a type of muscle stiffness, are the result of tiny contraction knots that develop in muscle and tissue when an area of the body is injured or overworked.
TP are something traditional doctors ignore, but they could be the one thing that has been overlooked in your case for years, if not decades.
A hallmark of trigger points is something called "referred" pain. This means that trigger points typically send their pain to some other place in the body, which is why conventional treatments for pain so often fail.
Many health care practitioners wrongly assume that the problem is located where the pain is and therefore fail to assess the body correctly to find the cause of your pain.
I'm going to give you some valuable information about trigger points that I hope will enlighten you the possibility that TPs release may be the root to your pain relief.
What triggers it?
TP can occur as a result of muscle trauma (from car accidents, falls, sports or work related injuries, etc.), muscle strain from repetitive movements at work or play, postural strain from standing or sitting improperly for long periods at the computer, emotional stress, anxiety, allergies, nutritional deficiencies, inflammation, and toxins in the environment. A single event can initiate a trigger point, and you can suffer the effects for the rest of your life if it is not addressed properly.
Why TP cause trouble?
Your body's instinctive reaction to a harmful "event" is to protect itself. It does that by altering the way you move, sit, or stand, which puts abnormal stress on your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. This produces strength and flexibility imbalances in your muscles, as well as postural dysfunctions throughout your body.
If that were not bad enough, your blood flow can become restricted and when that happens both your peripheral and central nervous systems will start to send out those "referred" pain signals, making assessment and treatment even trickier. That's why some experts believe that trigger points are the beginning stage of fibromyalgia. Can things get even worse? Keep reading.
Here's why you may be suffering
To better illustrate the process, here's an example of how one trigger point in one muscle can cause back pain, sciatica, or a herniated disc. The most common place is in the muscle of the lower back called the quadratus lumborum (QL), which is located just above your hips.
Regardless of what kind of event sparks the it, your QL will gradually become dysfunctional - that is, the QL will tighten and shorten. And as you limit its use, it will weaken.
As the QL becomes increasingly dysfunctional, it will alter the position of the pelvis. As the pelvis becomes dysfunctional, it will force the spine into an abnormal curvature that will put abnormal pressure on the disc.
Over time, the disc will begin to bulge. This situation will get progressively worse, affecting your overall quality of life. Depression often follows. All of this from a single event that occurred in one moment in time.
How do you know if you have TPs?
Everyone has it; the question is to how many degree. If you have lingering pain, tightness, or restriction of certain movements, it is a good bet that you are experiencing the effects of a trigger point. It may produce symptoms as diverse as dizziness, earaches, sinusitis, nausea, heartburn, false heart pain, heart arrhythmia, genital pain, and numbness in the hands and feet.
TPs can bring on headaches, neck and jaw pain, low back pain, sciatica, tennis elbow, and carpal tunnel syndrome. They are the source of joint pain in the shoulder, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle that is often mistaken for arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, or ligament injury.
Here are a few more symptoms you should know about:
If you have restless leg syndrome, you have TPs; if your teeth hurt, you have TPs; if your workouts have plateau, you have TPs; if you have painful menses or irritable bowel syndrome, you have TPs.
How does TP Therapy work?
Simply rubbing the surface of the skin with a massage lotion, a vibrating massager - or using heat - will not change the tissue of a single trigger point. What it needs is sufficient deep sustained pressure to the "knotted-up area" like a deep soft tissue massage.
As I work the TP, your body will undergo soft tissue release, allowing for increased blood flow, a reduction in muscle spasm, and the break-up of scar tissue. It will also help remove any build-up of toxic metabolic waste.
A regular deep tissue massage sessions help your body undergo a neurological release, reducing the pain signals to the brain and resetting your neuromuscular system to restore its proper function. In other words, everything will be working the way it should.
How long does it take to get relief?
The length of time it takes to release a TP depends on several factors, one of which is how long you have had your trigger point. Other factors include the number of trigger points you have, how effective your current treatment is, and how consistently you can administer or receive treatment.
You need a therapist who can properly assess your condition and provide firm enough massage to release the Trigger Points. It can be time-consuming process to completely release all the primary, latent, and myofascial Trigger Points you may have in your body but you are worth it. Why live in pain? The purpose of living is to live a great life.
If you don’t have massage on a regular basis, I suggest you do it now.
I'm passionate and committed to the highest ethical standard within my profession and will do my best to ensure your satisfaction.
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I come in with muscles all tight and knotted and leave with felling relaxed and ready to face the rest of the day.
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Thank you so much for the extremely professional and dedicated work!
Without your massage my recovery wouldn't have been successful enough.
Best of wishes,
Valeria
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