Trigger point therapy

Trigger points are described as hyper-irritable spots in skeletal muscle that are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers. Trigger point researchers believe that palpable nodules are small contraction knots and a common cause of pain. Compression of a trigger point may elicit local tenderness, pain elsewhere, or local twitch response.

When I was studying [trigger point therapy], I read the two volumes by Travell & Simons.

I recall that they said besides the ordinary trigger points that develop from muscle strain, if one has a diseased organ (e.g. heart, gallbladder, etc.), sometimes it can prompt development of a trigger point in a muscle nearby….

If you identify a trigger point, there are do-it-yourself instructions that can sometimes really help. Instead of the anaesthetic that is used by a practitioner, there is a special technique [in which ice is used]. …

It might be that if you could release one or more trigger points it could make a big difference. Once they arise, they can be self-perpetuating.

Joyce Waterhouse, PhD

• The trigger point therapy workbook: your self-treatment guide for pain relief, second edition – self-help book designed to help the layperson to treat themselves for painful trigger points with massage
  • selections available from author's website
  • book available on Amazon.com
• Travell & Simons' myofascial pain and dysfunction: the trigger point therapy workbook – a two-volume manual