More about trigger-point therapy
Trigger points, or muscle knots, are concentrated areas of increased pain in soft tissue which are highly sensitive to palpation or touch.
Muscle groups are constructed of many muscle fibers, several of which are bundled together and surrounded by connective muscle sheaths. Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a chronic pain disorder that consists of numerous trigger points in several muscle groups and muscle fibers concurrently. Trigger points or muscle knots may be one of the primary causes of your back and neck pain. The pain is often severe and radiating to the head.
Trigger point therapy is a special manual therapy technique that loosens trigger point areas or muscle knots through a mechanism of point rubbing, pressing, and gliding over the trigger point area.
Why do trigger points or muscle knots form?
Possible causes of trigger points or muscle knots include prolonged poor posture, rapid sudden movement, overstretching a muscle or improper loading of a muscle.
The above-mentioned causes lead to sudden reflex responses of the muscle, which alter the physiological state of individual muscle fibers. Anatomically, the trigger point looks like fiber or tape with severely shortened sarcomeres, which are the sequential building material of muscle fibers. Moreover, thickening is also present in this area.
Typically, trigger points cause the rest of the muscle fiber to become overstretched and lengthened. Hence, it is the structure of the sarcomeres that is disrupted, and they become ‘glued together’ at the trigger point.
Trigger points often do not loosen on their own despite periods of rest and may remain present as a permanently shortened muscle fiber. Trigger points are further defined by the fact that local dysfunction of the muscle fiber can be transmitted to the surrounding tissues, often resulting in pain compensation and additional strain on the surrounding muscle groups.
At Medicofit, trigger point therapy is carried out by experienced physiotherapists after a diagnostic body examination, which includes clinical joint testing and muscle function testing. Both are essential for the correct holistic treatment of the injury, which also includes trigger point therapy.
