11/02/2018
What is a trigger point? We all have them throughout our body. There are multiple trigger points in every muscle. Most of the time they don't bother us, but if we get sick, have surgery or are injured they can start to fire off and send pain signals to various parts of our body. There are only three known ways to deal with them once they have been activated: 1) injection therapy. This is when a doctor injects a mild saline or anesthetic solution into the trigger point directly. 2) ice and stretch. This is a distraction technique where a trained professional quickly ices the surface of the skin and stretches the muscle where the trigger point is located, flattening it out, and 3) manual trigger point release. This is where someone puts direct pressure on the point itself and holds it while the trigger point begins to dissipate.
There are several approaches to this technique. Some therapists push hard and flatten the trigger point to diminish it. This is often extremely painful to the client/patient. Others, like myself, approach the pain threshold but don't pass it, then allowing the brain to experience the dissipation of the trigger point directly, helping to reprogram the brain and the body into accepting the change.
Trigger points don't go away on their own without some type of intervention. The pain pattern that they start can become subsumed under newer pain patterns as the body attempts to adapt to the dysfunction, but the core of the issue will remain until you seek treatment.
I have been doing manual trigger point release since 1990 and developed an approach that does not force my clients to undergo extreme discomfort in order to feel better. The old adage, "no pain, no gain", does not apply here. Make an appointment and try it out and you will see a dramatic shift in your body and how it functions. Call 541-217-9081. I am located in Coos Bay, Oregon.
