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Trigger Point Massage
Ever wonder what can be done to help headaches, neck stiffness, carpal tunnel type symptoms, tennis elbow, bursitis, frozen shoulder, back pain, low back stiffness, sciatica, shin splints? Find a massage therapist that is skilled with finding and treating trigger points and you just might find immediate relief.
Trigger points are accumulations of waste products around a nerve receptor. Often times they feel like nodules or taut bands of fibers within the soft tissues. Trigger points form in muscles, which have been overused or injured due to an accident or surgery. Common characteristics are increased muscle tension and muscle shortening. Increased muscle tension is the primary side effect of trigger points and pain is the most common secondary effect. Trigger points can present themselves as referred patterns of sensation such as sharp pain, dull ache, tingling, pins and needles, hot or cold, as well as can create symptoms such as nausea, ear ache, equilibrium disturbance, or blurred vision.
Trigger points can exist in two states, either active or latent. Active trigger points are those, which cause discomfort. Latent trigger points wait silently in the muscle for a future stress to activate them. Aches and pains that began in the past become more frequent and severe in intensity as we age. It is common to attribute this discomfort to arthritis instead of our tight muscles, which harbor trigger points.
When trigger points are not treated, they will create satellite trigger points in the affected area. For instance, a trigger point in the trapezius may cause a trigger point to appear in the temple. The trigger point in the temple then may cause a trigger point to appear in the jaw. And, voilą! - A case of TMJ.
To diffuse a trigger point, static compression (pressure) is applied for 10 seconds, released, then pressure applied for 10 more seconds in a pumping action while the client breathes deeply. This action flushes the toxins and calms the nerves. Releasing trigger points releases endorphins so the result is elimination of discomfort as well as being energized.
Trigger point massage is not a relaxing, "fluff and buff" technique. It requires the participation of the client to communicate the presence and intensity of pain and discomfort. The therapist and client work together as a team to maximize the effectiveness of the treatment.
It is common to find great improvement after one treatment. Repeated treatment may be necessary for those with chronic trigger points. Stretching should be done as "home work" to encourage the muscles that have been treated to stay in a lengthened position.
Trigger Point Therapy is a subset of neuromuscular therapy, which examines and treats muscles and muscle attachments in layers from superficial to deep, ligaments and connective tissues.
If you have chronic pain, there's a treatment that some people are discovering may help. Deep Tissue Massage is something people are turning to when they've tried more conventional treatments have failed, or resulted in only partial healing.
"A lot of times they need mechanical changes to help the body to heal itself," Says Kristi of Advance Therapeutic Massage. Kristi explains that injuries to the body can cause shifts in the positions of muscles, and then tightening of muscles as the body compensates for the damaged area.
Kristi who specializes in deep tissue work, says the treatment is designed to realign the body.
"Deep Tissue Massage looks at releasing connective tissue," she says, adding, "It's this tissue that dictates what the body will look like."
The tissue she's talking about is the fascia, which covers all of the muscles in the body, and connects the parts of the muscles to each other. She says the fascia is similar to the white rind in an orange, holding the fruit together.
"The deep tissue work would help to make someone straighter, function better, and move more easily," she says.
Kristi says Deep Tissue Massage is not at all like an ordinary, relaxation massage. "There's a difference between deep, regular massage and deep tissue work,"
Kristi admits the treatment can be painful. "On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being really, really tender or really painful, the therapist should be seeing around a seven to an eight." "It should never be overwhelming," she adds. "At any time the client has the right to say 'that's enough.'"
Open communication between patient and therapist is essential in Deep Tissue work. Kristi says it's the only way to ensure the treatment will work, because if a patient is in too much pain, the body resists and tightens up, defeating the goal, which is to relax the body enough to be able to reshape it.
"You always work with their tolerances," she says about the pain levels. Kristi also shows her clients breathing exercises to help them with the discomfort.
Kristi says the pain lasts a few hours after a treatment, and you don't feel the positive effects until a few days afterwards, but the flexibility and relief the massage gave are worth it.
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