What are Trigger points?

Myofascial trigger points are points in your fascia around your muscle that feel like a ‘taut band’ or also known as a muscle knot. Commonly, trigger points are sensitive and can become painful when pressed on. The pain is usually described as achy and “sour”. Sometimes it can radiate pain across your back, down your arms or legs and cause headaches depending on where the points are located.

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Trigger points can also be described as micro-cramps. Similar to cramps, trigger points are small patches or bundles of muscle fibres that have encountered insufficient blood supply. This causes lactic acid and other toxic waste products to build up. Trigger points can be found all over your body. They all start with a nerve placed over a muscle fibre. This area is called the motor end plate or also known as the neuromuscular junction. At the end plate, a chemical signal is sent from the nervous system that tells the muscle to contract. If there is an imbalance in the area (caused by strains or repetitive overuse of the muscle), a trigger point can form

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It is estimated that 85% of pain which people seek medical attention, is of myofascial (muscle and connective tissue) origin. Trigger point therapy can be done for both active (currently in acute pain) as well as latent (not as painful, from a chronic injury) trigger points.

Here at Healthworks, we help clients with trigger points by performing myofascial trigger point therapy where we isolate and apply pressure to relieve the pain caused by the trigger point. The sustained pressure interrupts the nerve signal causing the muscle to let go, encourage blood and oxygen circulation while releasing lactic acid from the muscle.