Trigger Point Therapy: I love it and use it often in my Seattle Treatment Massage practice. Why? Because it is quite effective in helping with immediate relief of pain in trigger points.

What is a Trigger Point?  A Trigger Point is not the same as an acupuncture point. When you touch a trigger there is pain and you can feel the spot where it is with your fingers. These areas are often found in "muscle knots" or "taught muscles bands". Trigger Points usually have blocked blood flow and often cause an entire muscle to be painful, tight, weak, and more easily fatigued. They can be caused by overworking or over stressing muscles or by a direct injury to the muscle.

There are two types of Trigger Points: active and latent. An active trigger point will send pain zinging down your body or pain in another spot on your body when you apply direct pressure. A latent trigger point will only have pain in the spot you are actually touching.

How does Trigger Point Therapy work?  Trigger Point therapy works by applying direct pressure or deep strokes on the spot or stretches. During this, it is important for the client to breathe deeply and evenly. Slowly the pain and tension will melt. This creates a release in the muscle that can give you greater flexibility, a decrease in stiffness and increase in local blood flow. Massage practitioners find these points by using our skill of sensitivity in our hands or even our elbows. Trigger Point Therapy can be used in conjunction with many other types of massage including Swedish Massage, Myofascial Release, Sports Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Lomi Lomi, and especially Treatment Massage.

Does Trigger Point Therapy hurt?  It does not have to. When I apply Trigger Point Therapy on my clients we are in constant communication. I slowly increase the intensity of the work checking in with the clients comfort level. Some clients prefer that I go quite deep to that "hurts good" point. If at anytime you are not comfortable with the depth or intensity of your massage, it is important that you communicate that to your practitioner. Everyone has a different pain threshold and it is to be respected.

• Trigger Point Therapy can be used to treat:
• General muscle Pain
• Jaw (TMJ) pain
• Headaches and migraines
• Whiplash/Neck pain
• Tennis Elbow
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Frozen Shoulder
• Foot pain or Plantar Fasciitis

So, if you are noticing you have spots in your muscle that are painful to the touch, I highly recommend you find a therapist that can asses if Trigger Point Therapy is going to help you find relief from that pain.