Trigger Point Therapy

"Oh, that's the spot, Doc!"

Patients are frequently amazed that we can locate, just by feeling, the painful spot. Trigger points are very sensitive areas in muscle bands that trigger painful responses and are characterized by heightened soreness in the patient and a noticeable hardness to the doctor or therapist. Trigger points are not just sensitive nodules, but they affect the surrounding muscle and tissues.

A type of soft tissue therapy, trigger point therapy, first coined by Dr. Janet Travell who treated President John F. Kennedy for his back pain, is established on the theory that pain in a certain part of the body can actually be brought about by an injury or dysfunction somewhere else. Chiropractic treatment of the spinal nerve injuries and dysfunctions is complementary.

Trigger points are areas of sensitivity in a muscle. Trigger point therapy involves applied pressure to these painful, sensitive areas in order to alleviate their pain and dysfunction as well as pain in other parts of the body. Sometimes massage and trigger point therapy are used together. Theoretically, active trigger points cause muscle pain which transfers pain and tenderness to other parts of the body when pressed. Latent trigger points are those that don't have pain unless pressed, but they are thought to bring about joint stiffness and reduced ranges of motion as we get older.

By including trigger point therapy, the doctor or therapist puts pressure on these painful points to relax the muscle and tissues affected. Even as the applied pressure on a trigger point may cause your soreness to become more noticeable, it has the odd effect of feeling good at the same time. You will find that trigger point therapy in connection with your Chiropractic Cox Technic treatment goes far to move you toward pain relief.

Jefferson Park Spine Specialists provides trigger point therapy to enhance your healing. Ask Jefferson Park Spine Specialists for more information.