Understanding Pain And Trigger Points

Pain is a sign generated from our body that it is in peril. It is part of our alarm system to warn us that something is not right. Our muscles keep us moving and doing the things that we need to do. We are so busy we tend to forget how important our muscles are to us.
When muscles are hurt and ignored they tend to form trigger points. Trigger points are nodules that are located within the muscle bellies or at the site where the muscles attach to the bone. When these points are sufficiently provoked they produce a referral pattern to a targeted zone. The referral pattern may include pain, tingling, numbness, itching, ticklish feeling, and other sensations.
How does a Neuromuscular Therapist help?
A Neuromuscular therapist’s job requires them to address ischemia (lack of oxygen to the muscles), trigger points, neural entrapment/compression, postural imbalances, nutritional imbalances/deficiencies and emotional factors.
When working with someone in pain these six factors should all be addressed systematically to assess for and hopefully reduce the underlying causes and/or to decrease the intensity of the discomfort. If one or more of the factors are not addressed, the person may plateau in his or her recovery or regress to a previous state of discomfort and dysfunction.
Communication is Key
How do you know if you have trigger points? Is the area tender? Healthy tissue is flexible and are not tender with appropriate pressure. Muscle tissues that are ischemic and contain trigger points are usually tender.
Do you feel pain somewhere else such as that headache you’ve been feeling all day when an area is worked on? If so this is normally a trigger point with a refer pain pattern. Sometimes this referral pattern can be any of these sensations: pain, heat, tingling, cold, numbness, itching, feeling ticklish and many other sensations. Each body varies but these are averages.
Sometimes during a session, touch can stimulate a release of emotions. Remember this is ok. You should never feel obligated to explain yourself. Just remember to continue to breathe deep breaths.
Trigger Points and Injuries
When can you receive NMT treatment? If you have just been in an injury such as a car accident, go to the doctor to make sure you are ok structurally. Once all other injuries have been cleared and your discomfort is caused from muscle pain proceed with the following:
Acute Conditions: During the first 72-96 hours of an injury NMT is not to be used on the injured tissue but can be applied to other parts of the body during this initial phase.
Rest the tissues. Do not use NMT for the first 72 hours.
Ice the tissues to decrease blood flow and swelling.
Compress the tissue with bandaging, if appropriate.
Elevate the injured part to help decrease swelling.
Chronic Conditions: Injured tissues become chronic if they have lasted for more than 3 weeks. To treat chronic conditions the following four steps should be followed.
1. Decrease the ischemia and trigger points in the soft tissue with Neuromuscular therapy, hydrotherapy (heat or cold) and other soft tissue techniques (myofascial release, deep tissue, magnetic)
2. Restore flexibility by stretching and mild movement.
3. Rebuild Strength through mild exercise, increasing to moderate as appropriate.
4. Build overall endurance with conditioning exercise and weight training
Remember to first rid of the trigger points and increasing your circulation is key. With increase circulation comes better blood flow. The more oxygen that is being delivered to your muscles and the better your body can eliminate waste products, the less likely they are to form trigger points. Without this needed circulation your muscles get stuck in a vicious cycle due lack of energy. Thus they stay tight and form trigger points. Stretching the muscles restores their flexibility. Too much inflammation can cause scar tissues which restricts movements. Once your body is in better shape exercise is your next step. The stronger your muscles are the less likely they are to get injured again.
Massage is not your mask the pain treatment. Neuromuscular therapists treat the issues that can cause these formations. Sometimes one or two treatment is not enough to rid of the problem depending how long it have affected you. Massage received on a consistent basis is more effective at treating the issue than coming in sporadically with the same problem. A few consistent massage sessions can make a big difference. How important is getting your life back free from pain?

Resources: Neuromuscular Therapy (American version), Judith Delany, LMT