Trigger Point Therapy was introduced in the United States in the 1940’s. Trigger points are areas on your body that, when touched, can cause pain, muscle stiffness, and restrict motion. The sessions for this therapy are usually 60 minutes after the first one which is longer.  

Trigger point therapy is a massage that works on the points of pain to eliminate them.  It can also improve range of motion.  During treatment the tender points are released.  Your therapist will ask about your general health and want to know what you expect from your sessions. Then he/she will locate the trigger points so they can be worked on.  Once they have been located the therapist will put pressure on them by using fingers, knuckles and sometimes elbows. The trigger points are pressed with fingers, elbows or knuckles for 10 seconds and released.  Pressure is reapplied for 30 seconds. There will be pain when the pressure first starts.  You need to tell the therapist about this pain so he/she can adjust the treatment for you.  This pain should decrease as the session goes on.  To prevent the muscles from tightening again the therapist will stretch the muscles during and after the treatment.

Trigger point therapy works on knots that can be felt under the skin. If left untreated, trigger points can form satellite trigger points away from the original point.  They form just under the skin in tight bands of knots.  Trigger points come in two varieties.  Active trigger points are painful when pressed and don’t effect any other part of the body.  Latent trigger point cause pain in other parts of the body other than the original point.