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    Trigger Point Therapy

    What Is It?

    Active trigger points (often referred to as “knots” or as myofascial dysfunction) create pain when pressure is applied to a specific region within a muscle. Trigger point therapy is a technique that involves our physios identifying taut, palpable ‘bands or knots” within a muscle which is considered over-active and causing pain and working to maximise recovery.

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    How Does It Work?

    Trigger point therapy is a therapy designed to speed up recovery from injury and relieve pain. The technique involves applying pressure to areas of muscle tightness or ‘knots’. This helps to reduce muscle tension and promote healing. 

    The pressure of trigger point therapy affects some of your nerves and muscles (specifically the neuromuscular system) so that pain decreases. This encourages the muscles to return to their normal state and reduce pain and tightness. Our physiotherapists are well experienced in using this alongside other management strategies to assist with a wide range of conditions.  

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    Assessment & Treatment

    Trigger point therapy can be used in different parts of the body sometimes as the main part of treatment and sometimes as one of many techniques to help you with your pain or problem. Here is what a session may involve:

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    Recent Research

    These techniques can be employed throughout the body on various muscles. However, previous research has shown it to be more effective in certain clinical scenarios such as those outlined below:

    References

    1. Alonso-Blanco, C., De-La-Llave-Rincón, A. I., & Fernández-De-Las-Peñas, C. (2012). Muscle trigger point therapy in tension-type headache. Expert review of neurotherapeutics, 12(3), 315-322.
    2. Grieve, R., Cranston, A., Henderson, A., John, R., Malone, G., & Mayall, C. (2013). The immediate effect of triceps surae myofascial trigger point therapy on restricted active ankle joint dorsiflexion in recreational runners: A crossover randomised controlled trial. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 17(4), 453-461.
    3. Llamas-Ramos, R., Pecos-Martín, D., Gallego-Izquierdo, T., Llamas-Ramos, I., Plaza-Manzano, G., Ortega-Santiago, R., Cleland, J. & Fernandez-De-Las-Penas, C. (2014). Comparison of the short-term outcomes between trigger point dry needling and trigger point manual therapy for the management of chronic mechanical neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. journal of orthopaedic & sports physical therapy, 44(11), 852-861.
    4. Renan-Ordine, R., Alburquerque-SendÍn, F., Rodrigues De Souza, D. P., Cleland, J. A., & Fernández-de-las-Peñas, C. (2011). Effectiveness of myofascial trigger point manual therapy combined with a self-stretching protocol for the management of plantar heel pain: a randomized controlled trial. journal of orthopaedic & sports physical therapy, 41(2), 43-50.

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