Active Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy

[f1progeny]

Hi everyone,

Have to say I agree with viola above. TrP cannot be seen as a stand-alone method of treating patients however i use them regularly in my treatment of a variety of conditions- to excellent effect. Attending courses in manual release of MTrP's and Dry-needling it was stressed that to try to treat the TrP's alone is not sufficient and in fact is just poor-practice.
In undergrad we did very little soft-tissue release but had large emphasis on manual mobs etc and i feel this did not prepare me for optimising patient treatment. For optimal out-comes in any case all elements of the joint, myofascial and neural restrictions need to be treated along with correction of postural/biomechanical issues and correct re-training of neuro-muscular control(among other things).

I think any clinician woth their salt should always be wary of referred pain especially visceral pain masquerading as a musculoskeletal condition but a detailed history and examination looking out for yellow/red flags should help confirm the diagnosis/need for onward referral.
The key is the diagnosis, I just find that for musculoskeletal conditions release of TrP's is a quick and effective way for restoring soft-tissue to normal length/function in preparation for rehabilitation.

I'm not even going to go into the treatment of myofascial pain using dry-needling/manual release of TrP's which in my experience is extremely effective - however again the clinician and patient need to be aware that unless causative factors are addressed the TrP's will continue to develop.

As for research chris-k mentioned people above but i feel there will be a growing body of evidence in support of treating TrP's over the next few years. Search Jan Dommerholt for a very interesting chapter on craniomandibular pain.

Hope this helps, it's certainly an area that needs more research but a promising one.

[enggrajshukla]

Hi every,

I am agree with all, Dealing with "trigger points " will provide only short term relief from altered patterns of recruitment of muscle , and elements of referred pain associated with hypertonicity. Tell me why it does not work with the exercise.

[quorthon]

Hi everyone,.

As for research chris-k mentioned people above but i feel there will be a growing body of evidence in support of treating TrP's over the next few years. Search Jan Dommerholt for a very interesting chapter on craniomandibular pain.

Hope this helps, it's certainly an area that needs more research but a promising one.

You should also check more critisizing references if you want to have a more objective opinion about Trps...Quintner for example has published many articles on the subject based on clinical cases which show that Trigger points is nothing but a MANIFESTATION of other dysfunctions....In my own little experience (if i was 60 years old i would only say HUGE) when u treating succesfully a patient, u often observe that Trps dont longer exist...For example on a discogenic situation on lumbar spine, when Trps are in erector spinae or gluteus muscles, and after treatment there is no "tenderness" over this area...