La Grande Chiropractic Care: Trigger Point Therapy

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

Patients are often astonished that we can find, just by feeling, the painful area. Trigger points are very sensitive areas in muscle bands that trigger painful responses and are characterized by increased discomfort in the patient and an obvious hardness to the doctor or therapist. Trigger points are not just tender nodules, but they affect the muscle and tissues in the surrounding area.

A form of soft tissue therapy, trigger point therapy, first formulated by Dr. Janet Travell who treated President John F. Kennedy for his back pain, is established on the theory that pain in a certain 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 applied pressure to these sore, tender spots in order to alleviate their pain and dysfunction as well as pain in other parts of the body. Sometimes massage and trigger point therapy are applied together. Theoretically, active trigger points cause muscle pain which passes 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 presumed to bring about joint stiffness and decreased ranges of motion as we age.

By incorporating trigger point therapy, the doctor or therapist puts pressure on these painful points to ease the muscle and tissues affected. Even as the application of pressure on a trigger point might cause your soreness to become more noticeable, it has the odd effect of feeling good at the same time. You will discover that trigger point therapy in combination with your chiropractic Cox Technic treatment goes far to move you toward pain relief.

Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC provides trigger point therapy to maximize your healing. Ask Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC for more information.