Trigger Point Therapy or Manual Therapy refers to treatment of the myofascial trigger points found in fascia and muscles. Myofascial trigger points are the tense and painful areas found in muscles. They can be found on virtually any part of the body and are one of the leading causes of chronic musculoskeletal pain, referred to as myofascial pain.
Where Do Trigger Points and Manual Therapy Come From?
If the muscles sense that they are at risk of being stretched out to far too fast, they usually contract to protect themselves. If the contractions lead to a cycle of muscle spasms, trigger points may develop. Trigger points may cause oxygen and blood to be either reduced or cut off to the area affected, which leads to metabolic problems.
Trigger points might sound like a serious problem, but you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that they are quite common. Many people usually experience trigger point pain that results from accidents, sports injuries, poor posture, repetitive actions, surgical scars, and eve some vitamin deficiencies.
Chiropractic Specialty Center® incorporates manual therapy programs as part of the cae we provide for the spine, joints or sports injury patient. Targeted manual therapy or trigger points provided by our clinical teams of corrective chiropractors and clinical physiotherapists are best in Malaysia. We can help you recover faster.
Pain Vs. Myofascial Trigger Points
Myofascial trigger points are one of the leading causes of musculoskeletal pain as stated above. However, their prominent role in the management of pain was not known for a long time. This is probably due to the fact that trigger points are not necessarily painful other than after the application of direct pressure.
Myofascial trigger points typically refer pain elsewhere to remote or adjacent areas. The pain’s origin and the area where it manifests can be different. For instance, low back pain could be related to abdominal muscle trigger points, while a headache could be related to neck muscle trigger points. Referred pain is the identifying characteristic of myofascial trigger points. It is where the term “Trigger Point” is derived from, because it refers to one area triggering pain in another area.
Another good example is knee pain. Knee pain patients will have referred pain to the thighs or leg and as such need manual therapy to release the trigger points. Knee pain treatment at our center includes manual therapy of the trigger points as well as therapy through advanced chiropractic methods.
Treatment of Trigger Points Through Manual Therapy
Manual therapy of trigger points is treated using a variety of methods. Manual therapy, myofascial release therapy, or a combination of both techniques, have been shown to be highly effective. Our methods of manual therapy involves the specific manipulations of the muscles, fascia, and connective tissues while myofascial release therapy focuses on relieving muscle tightness and shortness. Chiropractic Specialty Center® physiotherapists use a combination of all methods for greater relief from neuromusculoskeletal (muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints, spine, spinal discs and nervous) pain or injuries.
Myofascial Release Therapy is a form of Manual Therapy
Myofascial Release Therapy focuses on easing tightness and tension in the myofascial trigger points to reduce pain. However, it isn’t always easy to identify the trigger point responsible for the pain. It can be incredibly difficult to localize pain to a particular trigger point. Due to this reason, Myofascial Release Therapy is used over a broad area of tissue and muscle as opposed to single points.
How Does Myofascial Release Therapy Work?
As mentioned earlier, Chiropractic Specialty Center® incorporate the deferring types of manual muscle and soft tissue works into one category called manual therapy. Manual therapy as provided at our center is inclusive of Myofascial Release. Myofascial Release Therapy is used to address several symptoms and conditions. Patients often seek myofascial treatment after losing function or flexibility following an injury or if they experience ongoing shoulder, back, hip pain or pain in any area with soft tissue. Myofascial release treatments usually take place during massage therapy sessions.
The therapist massages the myofascial gently while feeling for tightened or stiff areas. Normal myofascial feels elastic and pliable. The therapist starts to stretch and massage any areas that feel rigid with light manual pressure. The therapist then aids the tissues as well as the supportive sheath to release tightness and pressure. The process is then repeated severally on the trigger points until the tension is completely released.
Who Provides Myofascial Release Therapy?
A variety of different health professionals offer Myofascial Release Therapy or Manual Therapy including appropriately trained massage therapists, occupational/physical therapists, chiropractors, osteopathic physicians, sports injury/medicine specialists, and even practitioners of traditional medicine. Specific courses and training in Myofascial Release Therapy are generally needed and may be extensive to achieve a high degree of competency. The best myofascial release treatments are those provided by chiropractors and physiotherapists who understand the function of nerves and soft tissues.
Our clinical teams incorporate the combination of myofascial release, trigger point therapy and specific stretching programs to complement other therapy procedures. In short, we get better results.
Supplementary Treatments with Hands on Soft Tissue Therapy
Manual Therapy or hands-on soft tissue therapy can be a complement and precursor to other treatments. Patients that seek this form of therapy can also benefit from other forms of nonsurgical care geared towards controlling pain and keeping joints and muscles loose and warm.
Myofascial Release Therapy can be used to treat other conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, slipped disc, scoliosis, sciatica, spondylosis, neck pain, back pain, temporomandibular joint disorder (jaw pain or TMD), migraines, headaches, and possibly even fibromyalgia. It can also assist or enhance other treatments to improve their effectiveness such as physiotherapy and chiropractic treatments.
Manual Trigger Point Therapy
It is a manual technique for treating myofascial trigger points. It involves the use of strong manual pressure and can be somewhat uncomfortable for the patient. However, at our center we avoid pain. In short, your trigger point therapy or myofascial release is not painful. No pain means more Gain!
How Does Work?
Manual Therapy or trigger Point techniques are of different types. Some of the techniques focus directly on the taut band and trigger point while others are myofascial release techniques that affect a larger area of the muscle as well as its fascia.
Manual therapy that focuses directly on the trigger point and taut band involves locating the trigger points, presses on it with firm pressure using fingertips and holding it for several seconds. Our physiotherapist may repeat this in case the initial pressure fails to relieve the pain.
Once the taut band/trigger point softens and the pain reduces, the therapist may stretch the muscle thus restoring the proper length to the muscle fiber. Manual therapy is used to reduce muscle tension, spams, and pain caused by trigger points.
How to Prepare for Trigger Point Therapy
To maximize the effectiveness of your manual therapy, it is advisable to wear comfortable clothing. It is always advisable to keep your body well hydrated before, during, and after treatment. Water is essential to helping the body heal properly.
What Can You Expect from Treatment?
Our physiotherapist will apply gentle pressure on the trigger points to allow them to relax and release thus breaking the cycle of spasms. You may experience some soreness at the trigger point while the pressure us applied for several seconds. However, the soreness soon reduces after the pressure is released and pain in the area will start to subside.
The therapist may work on the same trigger point several times in one session. The therapist knows the exact amount of pressure as well as the duration to use based on the feedback from the muscles along with your verbal feedback. Manual therapy is not the same as a relaxing massage. It can actually be somewhat uncomfortable at times. However, it is worth remembering that it is going to resolve the underlying condition that is responsible for the pain. Manual therapy session usually end with stretching of muscle to promote relaxation.