Trigger Points
What are they and why do they matter?
What the heck is a trigger point?
According to Wikipedia: Myofascial trigger points, also known as trigger points, are described as hyperirritable spots in the skeletal muscle. They are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers.
Simply put, a trigger point is an extra-tight spot in a muscle.
When your massage therapist finds an active trigger point, you know it.
You want them to stay on that spot.
It lights up the panel, so to speak.
The discomfort/pain that arises with an active trigger points is normal and ok and something you should be able to breathe through to the other side to its release. It usually takes only a minute or two.
When the trigger point is released, the pain goes away and a healthier level of strength and range of motion return.
Did you hear that? No pain and healthy range of motion.
Isn’t this what we all want?
Trigger point therapy can absolutely help you get there.
A few months into my first massage therapy job, I began to wonder if I could handle the load on my body. As a newbie, I tried my hardest to give my clients what they wanted - deep tissue work - and I came home to ice packs every day on my forearms and wrists.
After moving to Juneau immediately following massage school, I soon learned one truth: Alaskans work hard and play hard - and they like their massages hard, too.
It was clear early on that to be a successful massage therapist there, I would need to grow my deep tissue skills and do it pretty quickly.
The longer my aches continued, the more I asked myself: am I going to be able to do this work? Had I already injured myself? Could I be a massage therapist who doesn’t ice after each shift?
I was in pain, I felt scared, and my mind was wandering. I needed help.
Thankfully, a group of more experienced massage therapists reassured me, pointing me toward 1) resources on how to incorporate my elbows into my massages more; and 2) a trigger point chart. I had merely been introduced to trigger point therapy in school and did not yet own one of these gems.
Now I have four - each strategically placed near my table.
While giving a massage, I live by these charts.
As it turns out, my beginner LMT pain was not chronic and career-ending.
I simply had some active trigger points that needed to be released.
As any bodyworker will tell you, we often learn the most from our own body pains. Through this experience, I learned there are trigger points in the Latisimus Dorsi (aka “The Lats”) that refer all the way down the arm and into the wrist.
So here I am thinking I’ve injured my wrists beyond repair - and really, I just needed to have some focused massage on my side-body to get those trigger points gone!
With this veteran perspective and guidance, at my next massage I asked my massage therapist to work only on one side of my torso, the shoulder girdle, and down the arm for the whole hour. I acknowledged this would be boring for her, but I knew that’s what my body needed.
After this heavily focused massage, one day after: I was really sore. This is normal and ok.
Two days after the massage, my pain was gone.
This, my friends, is the power of trigger point therapy.
When active, trigger points can have us feeling convinced:
we have definitely torn something; or
we have definitely thrown out our back; or
we are definitely having chest pains; or
we have definitely injured that joint & we need an MRI pronto!
In other words, trigger points create a sensation of pain.
Sometimes pain creates fear.
Sometimes fear makes our minds wander.
I realize sometimes pain in our bodies is a sign of something requiring immediate or significant attention. By all means, listen to your body and seek that help!
This isn’t always the case, though. Sometimes, the pain you feel in your muscle or joint is simply a trigger point that needs to be released.
Literally in a matter of minutes, a good or specially trained massage therapist (especially with a big chart by their table) can help you find relief.
No MRI, no surgery, no injections needed.
So, before you start thinking your (fill-in-the-blank activity) is potentially over because your (fill-in-the-blank muscle or joint) really hurts, fear not!
Relief could be just a massage away.