Our therapists help identify your pain and release painful trigger points with proven techniques.
Myofascial trigger points are an extremely common cause of pain. Trigger points are painful when pressed on, cause a shortening of the muscle fibers, and have a special property called referred pain. Referred pain means that a trigger point in one muscle can create pain in another area.
Since a trigger point is a contraction mechanism of muscle locked in a shortened position, treatment involves unlocking the contraction, and your physical therapist can do this in a variety of ways. The original way is through trigger point release which involves using a squeeze grip or a tool where direct pressure on the trigger point for 30-120 seconds according to research can release and soften a nodule, once released the muscle tissue needs to be moved throughout its full range of motion, which is why your physical therapist will give you stretching and range of motion, as well as postural retraining exercises. Postural retraining of surrounding muscles can alleviate the load upon the affected muscle group and provide stabilizing strength in the appropriate areas to both alleviate and prevent discomfort.