Trigger points are small knots that form when muscles are injured. They cause stiffness and pain and they feel sensitive to touch. Many common problems such as neck and back pain can be related to trigger points. If you suffer from neck or back pain often, try some basic trigger point massage at home and invest in a trigger point release tool for best results.
What Are Trigger Points?
Common causes for trigger point pain include repetitive strain injuries and muscle injuries, poor posture and joint problems. When the muscle is injured, the muscle fibers shorten and form painful knots that also cause tension and pain around the knot. This type of pain is also referred to as myofascial pain. Trigger points can cause many common complaints, such as neck pain, headaches, back pain, sciatic pain, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow and arm or hand pain.
Trigger point therapy is a treatment that releases these muscle knots, reduces tightness around the area and relieves pain. When the knot is released it will also affect the connected area; for example releasing a muscle knot in the shoulder can relieve arm pain. Trigger point therapy, or myofascial release, relieves muscle tightness and soreness, improves joint movement and increases mobility. Many athletes get myofascial release treatments before sports performances or after training sessions.
Self Massage for Trigger Points
Self-massage can release many trigger points. You can use your thumbs or fingers for many points, but tools such as massage sticks or trigger point balls are great for those areas that you cannot reach, such as the middle of the back. You can find a variety of massage tools on the market, and they vary depending on which body part they are used for and what your needs are. Foam rollers are popular tools that help with pain in most body parts, and can be used at home for releasing muscle tightness and knots.
When using your fingers or a massage stick, you can press directly on the point and hold the pressure from ten seconds to almost two minutes. You can also use circular strokes on the point to release the knotted muscle fibers. The points feel sensitive or even painful when you apply pressure on them, but you should not apply so much pressure that the pain becomes too intense.
When choosing a massage tool, start with a basic tool such as a foam roller. Once you get used to using one trigger point release tool, and learn the basics of trigger point therapy, you can start to experiment with other models.