What is Trigger Point Therapy?

Trigger Point Therapy uses a cycle of compression and release targeted toward these sensitive spots to release the pain and tension associated with it. Deep breathing and active range of motion stretches are often integrated into this therapy as well.

A trigger point is a tight area within muscle tissue that causes pain in other parts of the body. They are described as hyper irritable spots in skeletal muscle that are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers. Here is how a trigger point forms: Muscle overload causes an abnormal release of acetylcholine (from dysfunction in motor end plates). This release causes an influx of calcium into the sarcomeres in the affected area which, in turn, causes these sarcomeres to contract. “Because of the sarcomere contraction, there is an increase in the tension of the muscle fiber,” Jurch explains. “This tension creates contraction knots in the short sarcomeres, and these knots evolve into a trigger point. The lengthened sarcomeres along with the contraction knots, referred to as the trigger-point complex, constitutes the taut band in several adjacent fibers.”

A massage therapist can use the referral patterns of the trigger points to follow the point of pain described by the client back to the originating muscle, locate the trigger point in that muscle and apply direct pressure to release the spasms.

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