Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy
What are Trigger Points?
Trigger points, by definition, are points in muscles, ligaments and tendons that are painful to touch. They often cause referred pain to another part of the body. Just as a trigger of a gun causes something to happen somewhere else (where the bullet hits), stimulating trigger points in a muscle, ligament or tendon can cause pain in some seemingly unrelated part of the body.
The actual composition of a trigger point, within a muscle for example, is waste products (lactic acid, hyaluronic acid, etc.) that are unable to be washed out into the body's bloodstream and out of the body. These waste products are, by nature, nerve irritants that can cause pain.
How do People Get Trigger Points?
Most often, trigger points are caused by trauma or repetitive stress to a part of the body.
A fall, an auto accident, a sudden unexpected movement, a muscle sprain or ligament strain occurring any time in one's life could cause trigger points to develop. Stress, either physiologic or psychological, is usually the cause of a flare-up of trigger points.
Will Trigger Points Go Away by Themselves?
No, not completely. To explain why, let’s consider the physiologic aspect of trigger points as simply as possible. For example, you’ve injured, or sprained, one of the muscles of your shoulder by lifting something very heavy. The muscle sends a message, by way of a “sensory” nerve to the spinal cord indicating that the muscle is injured. An order from the spinal cord comes back to that muscle through a “motor” nerve (with 10 times the intensity of the incoming sensory message) telling the muscle to contract, causing spasm and pain. The spinal cord sends this order to prevent you from being injured any further. A very painful spasm in a muscle will most assuredly stop you from using that muscle.
Now, with the shoulder muscle in spasm, all the small blood vessels in the muscle are closed shut by the pressure from the muscle. Very little blood is getting to the muscle and very little is getting out. Within hours, this causes a buildup of waste products within the muscle that are unable to be washed out because of the spasm.
The built-up waste products, or toxins, are very irritating to the nerves in that muscle. This causes a message to be sent to the spinal cord telling it that there is pain. The spinal cord responds in its usual way and sends an order to the muscle to contract, making the problem even worse. As you can see, there is a cycle here that will continue to perpetuate itself.
What Can Be Done For These Trigger Points?
A special technique called "Nimmo Receptor-tonus,” named after its founder, Ray Nimmo, is utilized. To break that cycle explained in the previous paragraph, direct pressure on the trigger point is used for about five to seven seconds. Putting good firm pressure on any part of the body for five seconds will cause a nice red spot to develop lasting for several minutes. The red spot is actually a response (a reflex) from your body telling the blood vessels to open up. With the blood vessels opening in a trigger point, the built up toxins have a chance to escape into the bloodstream and the Pain-Spasm-Waste Build-up Cycle will be broken.
In addition, think back to when you were a child, you fell and hurt yourself, and you felt better by having your parent rub the area. Science tells us now that rubbing, stroking or compressing an injured area causes the brain to use pain-inhibiting nerves, instead of pain causing nerves.
Therefore, as the trigger point is treated by using direct pressure on the area involved, a two-fold process occurs. First, the vascular system of the muscle, ligament or tendon allows the blood flow through the area to increase, releasing the built-up toxins. Second, the direct pressure signals the brain to use pain-inhibiting nerves. These two factors help in bringing the involved area back to its normal state.
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