Trigger Point Therapy

A trigger point is a very irritated spot on a muscle that is painful when pressure is applied to it. Trigger points can be categorized as active or latent. Active trigger points cause pain for the patient and when pressure is applied by the massage therapist, the patient will most likely experience increased pain at that location in addition to pain in other nearby areas of the body, also known as referral pain. A trigger point in the back, for example, may produce referral pain to the neck. Latent trigger points only cause a person pain when pressed on but do not refer pain.

Trigger points are found in muscle tissue and its associated fascia. They are located in taut bands of muscle fibers and cause the muscle to shorten resulting in impaired mobility and pain. Normal functioning muscles do not contain taut sections of muscle and do not contain trigger points. Trigger point release therapy is performed through a series of pressure and release cycles throughout a massage session until the trigger point has been deactivated and no longer causing pain.