trigger points are well known for causing pain, but did you know that trigger points can also cause muscle weakness as well? The muscle fibers that are locked together in a trigger point cannot be used to produce muscular contractions thus weakening the entire muscle.
The brachioradialis muscle is located in your forearm, this muscle is responsible for helping to flex the elbow during semi pronation. Because of this it is sometimes called your drinking muscle. trigger points in this muscle will cause pain to refer into the elbow, down the forearm and into the hand. When severe enough trigger point pain can event travel up the arm.
The trapezius muscle or traps is a large muscle in the mid and upper back as well as the neck. This muscle plays an important role in shoulder and neck movement. With a chronic head forward shoulders rounded posture this muscle can become chronically overloaded and strained. When this happens trigger points can form. These points will refer pain into the neck, skull, and into the temple causing headaches. Trigger points won’t release by themselves, they need a manual technique like trigger point massage.
Your lats, or your latissimus dorsi muscles are the largest muscles of the back. They are responsible for adducting and medially rotating the arm. This muscle also produces extension at the shoulder joint. When trigger points for In this muscle, they can refer pain into the back, down the inside of the arm into the hand. These trigger points can also cause pain to be felt into the front of the shoulder. Once formed trigger points will not release on there own. They require a manual release technique like trigger point massage.
Activation of trigger points may be caused by a number of factors, including acute or chronic muscle overload, activation by other trigger points (key/satellite, primary/secondary), disease, psychological distress (via systemic inflammation), homeostatic imbalances, direct trauma to the region, collision trauma (such as a car crash which stresses many muscles and causes instant trigger points) radiculopathy, infections and health issues such as smoking.
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 nodule 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 suboccipital muscles are a group of small muscles located at the base of the skull. These muscles are responsible for small movements of the head and the first two vertebrae. They also play a roll in postural stability of the skull. Trigger points are common in people with poor neck posture. these points will refer pain deep into the skull and behind the eye. They are a common source of headache pain.
fascial connective tissue runs throughout all the bodies layers. It gives the body shape and function. Fascial litterally connects every part of your together. During movement when one part of the body moves, the body as a whole responds. Functionally the only tissue that can facilitate such responsiveness is the connective tissue. When one area of the body gets restricted or damaged, the body as a whole can become dysfunctional by setting up compensation patterns.
• Laser therapy improves blood flow and lymphatic drainage
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• It is an effective means of relief for many pain syndromes
• It can improve immune response
• Enhanced nerve regeneration & function
• Increased microcirculation & vasodilation
• Increased lymphatic flow
• Increased collagen production
• Increases the speed, quality and tensile strength of tissue repair
• Reduced inflammation
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the pectoralis major is the main muscle of the chest. It is a powerful adductor of the arm. This muscle often is tight and shortened from poor shoulder posture. Trigger points in this muscle will cause pain to refer into the chest, shoulder, and down the arm. Trigger points in the left pec can mimic heart attack and angina symptoms.
Aberdeen Chiropractic 