Trigger Point Therapy

Trigger Point Therapy is a form of Remedial Massage Therapy in which direct pressure is applied to specified points on tender muscle tissue to bring about reduction in muscle tension and pain relief.

What Activates a Trigger Point?

Each muscle has potential trigger points which can become activated by muscle overuse, inflammation, trauma, electrolyte imbalances, infections and nerve pain.

These trigger points can cause pain over the muscle affected or refer pain and thus be felt in another area of the body. Other trigger points are only felt when the muscle is directly palpated by the therapist.

How Can Trigger Point Therapy Help You?

Trigger Point Therapy is for almost everyone. Muscles with active trigger points are always weaker than normal muscles and unable to move through their full range of motion. Often because they are unable to perform their normal function, other muscles are recruited to perform the activity of the compromised muscle. These secondary muscles can go on to develop trigger points themselves if the original muscle is not treated.

Who Performs Trigger Point Therapy?

Your Trigger Point Therapist is usually trained in one of the soft tissue therapies eg Remedial Massage Therapist or Physiotherapist. Your Trigger Point Therapist is familiar with the location and pain referral patterns of trigger points for commonly affected muscles and is skilled in being able to treat them.

How Much Trigger Point Therapy Treatment Will You Need?

The response to Trigger Point Therapy treatment varies from person to person. Generally, for recent injuries or current conditions, only a few Trigger Point Therapy treatments are needed in a short space of time.

Chronic conditions involving severe pain, or conditions that have been drawn out, may require some intense initial treatment followed by ongoing treatment on a monthly or six-weekly cycle may to simply maintain your improvement.

The taut bands of muscle that accompany trigger points are often easily identified on palpation and pain can quickly be minimized with sustained compression on the affected tissue for 30 to 90 seconds. Some discomfort may be experienced when the compression is applied but the therapist will position the muscle to minimize the discomfort until such time it subsides completely. You will usually receive home exercises to perform to assist with the restoration of function.

Obviously, your treatment schedule will vary depending on your condition. For more specific discussion, you are best consulting your Trigger Point Therapy practitioner.

Can Trigger Point Therapy Be Used in Combination with Modern Medicine?

Yes, Trigger Point Therapy does not interfere with existing drug therapy. People seeking physiotherapy, massage and other modalities often combine their treatments with Trigger Point Therapy for greater recovery time and better mobility.

What Conditions Does Trigger Point Therapy Help?

Trigger Point Therapy is recognised as an effective treatment for pain.

The main reason behind its success appears to be related to chronic pain patterns. The establishment of chronic pain patterns occurs within a few months of an injury.

Once established, these pain patterns are difficult to reverse by other conservative treatment techniques. Trigger Point Therapy is often very useful in breaking this pain cycle.

In particular, Trigger Point Therapy is useful when other forms of traditional western treatments have failed to fully eliminate your pain. In our experience, Trigger Point Therapy is very useful in the relief of: