PreviousTrigger Point Release
Trigger points are muscle knots that most adults have experienced in places such as the upper back. The knots are contracted muscle tissue where the muscle's pulling action is more focused. And, such knots are always part of a taut band that extends from one end of the muscle to the other. Such trigger points are a problem for at least the following reasons:
- local pain at the trigger point
- referred pain from the trigger point, even far from the trigger point
- muscle shortening
- muscle weakening and atrophy because the muscle can't be used and strengthened through its full range of motion
- simple or complicated dysfunction of other muscles and joints in the region effected by the dysfunctional, shortened muscle
For a variety of reasons, we feel that injections are often the most effective means of releasing these taut bands and trigger points.
Like any medical method, such injections have some limitations. Stretching may also be needed right after, and perhaps long after, most such injections. We avoid trigger point injection in some areas because of greater technical difficulty or risk. In some simple situations release of trigger points with injection may lead to long or seemingly permanent relief, but more commonly the causes of the stress on the muscle also need to be studied and treated.
