Triggerpoint Massage Therapy

Triggerpoint massage is using massage techniques to address and relieve pain from triggerpoints. Triggerpoints are defined in different ways by different massage therapists and sources.

Wikipedia says that:

The term "trigger point" was coined in 1942 by Dr. Janet Travell to describe a clinical finding with the following characteristics:

* Pain related to a discrete, irritable point in skeletal muscle or fascia, not caused by acute local trauma, inflammation, degeneration, neoplasm or infection. * The painful point can be felt as a tumor or band in the muscle, and a twitch response can be elicited on stimulation of the trigger point. * Palpation of the trigger point reproduces the patient's complaint of pain, and the pain radiates in a distribution typical of the specific muscle harboring the trigger point. * The pain cannot be explained by findings on neurological examination.

Another definition of triggerpoint massage is an area of hyper-irritability within soft tissue structures, characterized by local tenderness and sometimes referred phenomena. These referred sensations can include pain, tingling, numbness burning, or itching.There are two main types of triggerpoints:

Active trigger point: Cause of the immediate pain, prevents muscle from fully lengthening and sometimes weakens.

Latent trigger point: Unnoticed by the client until pressure is applied, Not actively painful. Usually feels dense and fibrous.

There are many different methods of treating triggerpoints. Using direct pressure of varying times and amounts as well as using contract/relax methods such as Jone's Strain Counter Strain, Positional release therapy to name a few.

For more information see:Triggerpoint massage on www.thebodyworker.com

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