The term trigger point was coined by Dr. Janet Travell. She used injections to treat trigger points. Now less invasive methods can be used to treat trigger points. A trigger point occurs when a muscle is injured. To protect itself from further injury an area in the muscle will contract. This area will remain contracted preventing normal blood flow. This causes the muscle to be starved and causes pain in the muscle. Trigger points are commonly known as knots in your muscle. They are painful areas where you can feel a lump or band of hard tissue in the muscle. Trigger points cause both local and referred pain. Referred pain is pain that is away from the site of the trigger point. Referred pain from trigger points occurs in a predictable pattern.
Instructions
1. With feedback from your partner, choose the area you will work.
2. Palpate the muscle you're working on with the pad of your finger looking for knots.
3. Once you find a knot make sure you press down in the center of it.
4. Find out from your partner what the pain level is for the area you are pressing. Use a scale from one to ten--one being the least painful and ten being the most painful. Remember that they might be feeling the pain in another area besides the one you're pressing. Back off until they're pain level is about a two or three.
5. Keep pressing that trigger point for ten seconds. Now release the pressure, but don't remove your finger for two seconds. Press on the trigger point again for ten seconds. Make sure you press the same spot at the same angle you did before.
6. Repeat this process until the pain in the area stops. Be sure to do it no longer than two minutes.
Tags: trigger point, area will, from your, from your partner, muscle Trigger