Most people think if there shoulder or low back hurts, that is where the problem lies. Many patients and doctors have this thought process. Though this thought process is logical it is rarely the case.
Your body has over 350 muscles and every one of them has a trigger point. A trigger point is like a knot or a tight band that usually feels tender. These trigger points which your muscles get can refer pain are called active trigger points. Some of these active trigger points refer pain to different parts of the body or to the same part of your body. Approximately 74% of trigger points refer pain to a different area of your body.
For example, your scalene muscles in your neck can refer pain to your scapula region, bicep, and triceps region. So somebody could have pain in their bicep but it is actually their scalene muscles in their neck that are causing the problems.
What a trigger point massage can do for you?
When getting a trigger point massage the massage therapist will work on different muscles of your body according to where you are feeling pain. They will try to find the muscles that is the source of your pain. The therapist will now massage out the knots and allow blood and oxygen to get to the muscles. In this process many toxins will be released from your muscles and your pain should be relived. You will likely be sore the next day but after that your muscles will feel free again and you will have increased mobility and be relieved from your pain.
There are many benefits of a trigger point massage, some of them are:
- Increased mobility/ range of motion
- Pain relief
- Decreased stress
- Improved blood flow
- Less toxins in muscles
These are just a few of the many benefits from a Trigger point massage.