What Is Trigger Point Therapy?

By: Ben Crabtree, LMT, CNMT

In my San Antonio, Texas Massage and Bodywork practice many of the people that come for treatment are seeking someone to help them with 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.

As a Massage Therapist certified in Trigger Point Therapy, I use Trigger Point Therapy when Trigger Points are present in a person's muscles. Trigger Points are hyperirritable spots in muscles associated with a palpable "knot" or "taut band" in the muscle tissue. Trigger Points are painful on compression and can refer pain and tenderness to other areas. 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 trauma to muscles, or sustained chills. 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. Trigger Point Therapy is a versatile technique and is often used to treat back pain, Jaw (TMJ) pain, headaches and migraines, whiplash, tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, hip pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, runner's knee, and more. Trigger Point Therapy can be used by itself as a stand-alone treatment, or it can be used during a Swedish massage, Sports massage, or Medical massage and as part of Neuromuscular Therapy or Deep Tissue Massage procedures.

Trigger Point Therapy does have a reputation as being a painful therapy to receive. However, despite its reputation as a "no pain, no gain" type of technique Trigger Point Therapy can be quite comfortable to receive. Some clients may experience 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 work.

Try Trigger Point Therapy. You have nothing to lose except your pain.