A Chiropractor's View on Trigger Point Therapy
by Dr. Valerie Girard, Santa Barbara, CA
Trigger points form as a local contraction in a small number of muscle fibers in a larger muscle or muscle bundle. These in turn can pull on tendons and ligaments associated with the muscle. This is turn pulls on joints which may respond with pain, especially in overuse.
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Trigger points a often result in pain and weakness in associated joints. These pain patterns may follow specific nerve pathways. They often relate directly to subluxation patterns. Many trigger points have pain patterns that overlap, and some create reciprocal cyclic relationships that need to be treated with both chiropractic adjustments and muscle therapy to remove them. A trigger point in the back, for example, may produce referral pain in the neck.
. As well as employing manual adjusting to contiguous joints, she uses both deep muscle and trigger point therapy, as well as acupressure and laser to treat trigger points.
What Causes Trigger Points?
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Activation of trigger points may be caused by a number of factors, such as subluxations and neurological radiculitis, repetitive overuse of muscles, psychological distress, disease, direct trauma, accidents, infections and chronic organ stress.
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Trigger points form as a local contraction in a small number of muscle fibers in a larger muscle or muscle bundle. These in turn can pull on tendons and ligaments associated with the muscle. This is turn pulls on joints which may respond with pain, especially in overuse.
Trigger points a often result in pain and weakness in associated joints. These pain patterns may follow specific nerve pathways. They often relate directly to subluxation patterns. Many trigger points have pain patterns that overlap, and some create reciprocal cyclic relationships that need to be treated with both chiropractic adjustments and muscle therapy to remove them.
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Conditions For Trigger Point Therapy:
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Research indicates that Trigger Point Therapy has been shown to relieve:
+ Chronic back pain,
+ Heel pain,
+ Headaches
+ Relief from some Parkinson's Disease symptoms:
(A 2006 pilot study published in Movement Disorders showed
36 people with Parkinson's disease either received trigger point therapy or underwent a music-based relaxation therapy twice a week for four weeks. By the study's end, members of the trigger point therapy group showed greater improvement in motor function.)
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