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Myofascial pain trigger points
‘Myofascial’ (the term comes from ‘myo’ =
muscle, and ‘fascia’ = connective tissue which envelopes muscles, tendons and
joint capsules).
The muscles are the active organs of locomotion. They are formed
of bundles of reddish fibres, consisting of fibrine, and endowed with the
property of contractibility.
The fascia (bandage) are fibres, of various thickness and
strength. It is the deep fascia which form sheaths for the muscles, tendons and
connective tissues.
Every muscle has a potential ‘trigger point’.
When this trigger point flares up, goes into spasm and becomes painful often
that one trigger point radiates its pain to another muscle. It triggers
off pain from the source point to the satellite point.
It is now accepted that the commonly known "Trigger Points" are
actually the dysfunctional Spindle Fibers. The internal fibers of the Spindle
are in almost constant contraction tension, even when the muscle it resides in
is at rest. When using a needle EMG, a high degree of muscle contraction
activity can be demonstrated from *within* the Spindle, while only a millimeter
away, outside the Spindle and within ordinary musculature, there is very little
activity. It is widely believed that the these intrafusal fibers of the Spindle
are innervated by the sympathetic nervous system.
It is necessary to distinguish between ‘myofascial pain’
and ‘nerve root pain’. The irritation of a nerve and thus nerve root pain, even
if in the same distribution, is not to be confused with myofascial pain.
Myofascial pain is due solely to activation of trigger points and their
associated zones of activity.
There are three kinds of trigger points which develop in the
muscles, tendons and joint capsules.
These trigger points can be:
(1) INACTIVE in which case, although they are there, they are
like a dormant volcano.
They can be
(2) LATENT like a rumbling volcano which can erupt at any time.
They can be
(3) ACTIVE like a volcano in action and erupting.
Each muscle has its own characteristic pattern of pain referral.
Often this can cause another trigger point to become active in another muscle
within the zone of radiation of the original trigger. These are called ‘satellite’
trigger points.
To learn more about utilizing acupressure on your own,
Self applied
acupressure
For a review of other types of massage click here
These tools may assist in the performance of self
administered acupressure.
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