29/06/2016
As a Chiropractor, I am exposed to many patients on a daily basis with a wide variety of conditions.
By far the most common condition seen in the vast majority of my patients is that of myofacial trigger points. In short, myofascial trigger points are hyper irritable spots within muscles which are responsible for a wide variety of aches and pain. Typically, myofascial trigger points are called knots and may be responsible for headaches, burning muscles (especially between the shoulder blades), pain and numbness in parts of the head, neck, shoulders and arms. Myofacial trigger points also commonly affect the lower back, causing aches and pains in the lower back, buttocks and even all the way down the legs.
Some of the most common causes for normal muscles to develop myofascial trigger points are:
• computer or desk related work,
• stress,
• poor posture,
• middle to long distance driving and
• various sports, to mention a few.
Whichever way you look at it, the pain caused by these knots can dramatically decrease ones’ productivity.
One of the most effective ways of relieving, and ultimately ridding muscle of these trigger points, is a treatment called ischaemic compression. In simple terms, ischaemic compression is the technique of applying pressure to the myofascial trigger points 3 to 4 times in a row for 15 to 20 seconds at a time, with a 5 second break in between. It is this stimulation, that if done on a regular basis, will trigger a whole host of chemical and metabolic reactions within these muscles, ultimately resulting in ridding the muscle of the trigger point, as well as relief of pain and discomfort. This relief is often felt in as little as one session of ischaemic compression.
Now you may ask why people do not just apply pressure to these myofacial trigger points to relieve themselves of pain and discomfort? Despite the concept of ischaemic compression being very simple, it is the location of these points that make it virtually impossible to reach these hyper-irritable spots of muscle without the aid of a device.
A large number of individuals in South Africa are exposed to at least one of the above-mentioned causes of myofacial trigger points on a daily basis, and as a result the pain caused by these trigger points are chronic in most patients. It is as a result of this that a large number of individuals would be able to benefit from a product that would allow them to simply and effectively access and apply ischaemic compression to trigger points themselves.
To my knowledge, there is currently no product available in South Africa that allows individuals to effectively reach myofacial trigger points and apply ischaemic compressions to these points by themselves.
The Trigger Stick will change this. The Trigger Stick is a self-ischaemic compression device that individuals can use to alleviate and eradicate myofacial trigger points, and essentially the pain and discomfort caused by myofacial trigger points. Each Trigger Stick comes with a set of instructions that will show the individuals where they are expected to find trigger points, as well as subsequent pictures that will illustrate how exactly to use the Trigger Stick to access these spots easily and effectively.
As a practitioner I have witnessed firsthand how individuals need fewer treatments for myofacial trigger point related conditions after using the Trigger Stick.
