Trigger Points are not for Target Practice!

Have you ever felt pain when you applied pressure to a specific muscle? Has this pain then radiated to another part of your body as well? If so, you could be struggling with trigger points.Trigger points are spasms within a muscle that have become deprived of blood flow and have become irritated. Often, many people don’t even realize that the source of their pain could be coming from several trigger points. They are uncomfortable and inconvenient yet very common with most anyone who has been suffering from pain. In fact, they can cause such wide pain throughout the body that specific trigger point referral patterns can be found for each muscle that we have! Once a muscle has a trigger point, that muscle cannot work efficiently and therefore becomes weakened.

Now that you know what trigger points are, do you know how they are caused? Everyday strains, poor posture, underlying joint dysfunction, local trauma, inflammation, overuse injuries and numerous other musculoskeletal dysfunctions can get our bodies in knots! For example, when muscles are overexerted or injured in the adductors (muscles along our inner thighs), leg and pelvic movement is restricted by the formation of trigger points. This trigger point can cause pain along the inner thigh and pubic bone but also cause pain in what feels like the bladder and rectum. The hamstring can refer pain along the back of the thigh and buttock but can also travel down into the knee. Abdominal trigger points can contribute to symptoms of IBS and various stomach pains. Of course, we need our muscles to function effectively, so before you get your stomach in knots, know that there are many effective ways to treat trigger points if you are suffering.

At Rebalance, our awesome therapists can get you on the road to recovery. We have been trained to effectively evaluate for trigger points and to see if they could be a source of your pain and stiffness. We use specific hands release techniques to reduce and eliminate trigger points. It is also crucial to stretch and exercise following treatment, as well as make possible other lifestyle changes, and our physical therapists will discuss how best to rebalance your body with you.

We all want our bodies to be strong and sturdy like trees, but let’s save those knots for the branches!