trigger points?

[12R34Y]

Just curious......Can OMT fix, treat, or lessen the pain from trigger points in your back? Just wondering?

later

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[EJS]

yep,they can! our school teaches the treatments.

 

[12R34Y]

thanks EJS,

any details? It seems that massage doesn't help much. they stay sore forever. is it a quick fix or does it take many treatments?

just wondering.

thanks again,

 

[UHS03]

If you have the resources, read about Strain-Counterstrain techniques. These techniques will address trigger points.

 

[Hskermdic]

It is my understanding that Counter-Strain is not so helpful for trigger points but it works great for tender points. I was taught that using direct techniches work better for trigger points such as stretching, our school really stresses the spray and stretch technique for trigger points. Of course you can always inject them.

Just to clarify, I am talking about trigger points that are associated with Fibromyalgia. sorry.

 

[UHS03]

Well, I'm certainly no OMT guru I've always used the terms interchangably, which is probably wrong. If I find a localized spot that is exquisitly tender to pressure, I pretty much always address it with counterstrain, and that has worked well for me.

 

[rosebud]

There is a subtle difference between tenderpoints and trigger point.... tenderpoints are points that are sore upon touch and DO NOT refer pain to other areas of the body. Trigger points are places that refer pain (other than pain at the site , I believe) to ANOTHER part of the body. Dr Jones, the authority on tenderpoints, believed tenderpoints to be a viscerosomatic reflex, example being a peptic ulcer eliciting a dysfunction at T5-T9. The author on triggerpoints (I cant remember the name, d'oh!) believed the triggerpoints to be the MAIN pathology. Namely, the triggerpoints can be either a viscerosomatic or somatovisceral reflex, to just use the same example as above- she believed that if you treat the triggerpoint the peptic ulcer would go away. How the treatments differ, I really have no idea, this was just the meat behind the naming.........

 

[12R34Y]

Okay...Are you saying that I have all kinds of awful things wrong with me internally!? because I have trigger points/tender points?

I have tons of tightness and many sensitive points in between my shoulder blades and such, but otherwise am healthy. Can someone elaborate? Do trigger points really mean that I have internal problems? that's troublesome.

thanks for the replies.
later

 

[rosebud]

whoa there!
Assuming you are a student like the rest of us, you most likely have tenderness back there for the same reason half my school does- books and more books...... I was just trying to clarify the difference, thats all.

 

[UHS03]

To determine if a tender area in your back is related to some internal pathology is something that can only be done after physical exam and an evaluation of any associated symptoms. Based on the vertebral level of the back pain, I would ask some focused questions to determine if underlying pathology exists. Sometimes a pain in the back is just a pain in the back though. I see in your profile that you are a paramedic. Lifting gurneys and bending over patients all the time would certainly be enough to cause your back pain. If you are a student, your posture while studying may be the culprit. Unless you have reason to suspect some kind of internal pathology, I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[12R34Y]

So, what is "strain-counterstrain"? just curious.

thanks,

 

[UHS03]

Basically, a muscle can go into spasm because a reflex arc goes out of control, causing it to be stimulated again and again. Strain Counterstrain involves countorting your body in various ways around the tender point until you feel a dramatic reduction in pain. Once the least painful position is found, it is held for 90 seconds (which is supposed to "reset" the circuit and break the cycle caused by an overexcited relfex loop.) By taking the stretch out of the muscle, you take the feedback out of the loop. One of the coolest things about it is that if you (the doc) keeps pressing on the tender point throughout the treatment, the patient will see for themselves how much their pain has dissipated. The docs hand didn't move and before it hurt and now it doesn't. I've seen people in shock over how much better it feels afterwards.

One thing of note, in my limited experience, I have never been able to resolve any problems with this technique (or most others) over the long term...but I have given people substantial short term relief.

 

[12R34Y]

thanks for the response. Very cool stuff.....
later