OrthoIllinois Chiropractic's Use of Trigger Point Therapy

"Oh, that's the spot, Doc!"

Patients are often astonished that we can locate, just by feeling, the painful area. Trigger points are extremely sensitive areas in muscle bands that trigger painful responses and are differentiated by heightened discomfort in the patient and a noticeable hardness to the doctor or therapist. Trigger points are not just sensitive nodules, but they affect the muscle and tissues in the surrounding area.

A form of soft tissue therapy, trigger point therapy, first coined by Dr. Janet Travell who treated President John F. Kennedy for his back pain, is based on the theory that pain in one part of the body can in fact be brought about by an injury or dysfunction somewhere else. chiropractic treatment of the spinal nerve injuries and dysfunctions is complementary.

Trigger points are spots of tenderness in a muscle. Trigger point therapy incorporates the application of pressure to these sore, sensitive areas in order to relieve their pain and dysfunction as well as pain in other parts of the body. Sometimes massage and trigger point therapy are used together. Theoretically, active trigger points cause muscle pain which transfers pain and tenderness to other parts of the body when pressed. Latent trigger points are those that don't have pain unless pressed, but they are believed to cause joint stiffness and reduced ranges of motion as we age.

By incorporating trigger point therapy, the doctor or therapist presses on these painful points to relax the muscle and tissues affected. Even as the applied pressure on a trigger point might cause your pain to become more noticeable, it has the strange effect of feeling good at the same time. You will discover that trigger point therapy in connection with your chiropractic Cox Technic treatment does wonders to move you toward pain relief.

OrthoIllinois Chiropractic provides trigger point therapy to enhance your healing. Ask OrthoIllinois Chiropractic for more information.