How Myofascial Trigger Points Alters Brain and Nervous System Activity

Myofascial trigger points cause pain that creates a widespread pattern that can affect other areas and muscle groups. Trigger points are classified as being either latent or active. The symptoms often mimic other disorders like migraines and tension headaches. Treating this condition is difficult because many physicians are just learning how to diagnose a patient with the trigger point condition. Getting the muscle to release and retraining it to move correctly is the only known cure. Most people have one or two of these trigger areas, but it is not uncommon for people to develop several in various regions of the body including the neck, back, feet, and legs.

What is a Myofascial Trigger Point

The word "myo" means the muscle, and "fascia" means the tissue around the muscle. The National Association of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapists says that people often get these triggers from using the muscle too much, or from an injury like a fall or car accident. What happens is that the damage causes a knot to develop in the muscle tissue and the body responds by tightening the tissue surrounding the injury to keep the spot immobile. Repetitive injuries cause these trigger points to remain a source of pain and complications, causing the symptoms to spread and become more hurtful.

Causes of Trigger Points

• Repetitive use such as working on the same machine each day
• Being inactive and living a sedentary lifestyle
• Muscle spasms
• Poor posture
• Any injury such as a strike, tear, sprain, twist, or break
• Working in a field that requires regular lifting like being a nurse
• Sports injuries
• Deconditioning
• Using poor quality furniture
• Gardening
• Carrying kids all day
• DIY projects
• Carpentry
• Masonry
• Physical jobs such as general laborer

Diagnosing Active Trigger Points

Acute pain and stiffness are two of the primary symptoms of active knots in the muscle tissue. When someone presses on the area, the person will feel an extreme pain that may radiate to the surrounding muscles. For instance, a knot in the shoulder blade can send pain up the neck or into the head when someone presses on the area.

Other Symptoms of Active Knots in the Muscle

• General achiness
• Burning sensation
• Numbness
• Muscle fatigue
• Deep pressure
• Sweating when something causes the pain
• Dizziness
• Goosebumps or cold chills
• Eye-watering with the onset of symptoms

What is a Latent Trigger Point?

The pain mechanism is not always active immediately with this myofascial condition. These knots can develop and only show signs of weakness or a smaller range of motion. The pain may not develop for months or years after an injury. One note of caution is that medical experts should always check the person for tenderness versus trigger points. These two problems can be similar, making it hard to offer a correct diagnosis.

Tender muscles, like in people with fibromyalgia, cause widespread pain that is not central to any specific knot or area in the muscle. Tender muscles are over several areas, and total body pain increases when triggers occur. Trigger Point Therapists see problems stem from specific muscle groups, have a pattern pain response, and cause the muscle to jump or twitch with touch. Tender muscles simply feel sorer with pressure.

What Activates a Latent Trigger Point?

Triggers can include drafty areas, cold blasts of air, extra movement, and new injuries. Once the pain moves from the latent into the active sense, then it causes the area to tighten even further, allowing stress hormones to develop. These hormones can cause changes in the brain and create problems in the nervous system where muscle spasms, added pain, and more intense symptoms seem to spiral out of control. It is helpful to remember that off and on pain is not typical for latent trigger points. These areas are simply tight and weak until something turns them into active myofascial points.

How Massage Therapies Help Patients Get Pain Relief

Health and wellness specialists know that to get the trigger point to stop causing pain, that it must release. To release the tension requires direct pressure and massage by a specialist that understands how to find trigger points and diagnose symptoms. The person must apply direct pressure on the knot long enough to release the area and get the swelling to go down. After getting the knot to relax, the individual needs muscle retraining to get the body to heal properly. Once the muscles can move, the person must do physical activities like stretching and strengthening exercises to obtain a full range of motion and long-term pain relief.

Conditions That Mask Myofascial Trigger Points

• Sciatic pain
• Chronic headaches including migraines and tension-migraine complex
• Severe back pain
• Pelvic discomfort
• Leg and knee problems
• Bursitis
• Arthritis
• Bulging disc
• Fibromyalgia
• Tendonitis
• Plantar fasciitis 
• Carpal tunnel
• Tennis elbow

Reducing all the symptoms that go with chronic pain requires a correct diagnosis. People with myofascial trigger points will benefit from massage therapy and light touch treatments. These experts know how to tune in to the body to discover the source of the problem. They also help the person relax and meditate to increase relaxation. By relieving the pain, the body produces much fewer stress hormones and begins to balance out.

Over time, the nervous system settles back into regular patterns. Long-term care requires an understanding of the range of motion a person should use for his or her capabilities, avoiding stress triggers, minimizing overuse, and making regular trips to a massage therapist, and time away from the world through relaxing therapies.

Eugene Wood is a Licensed Massage Therapist located in Nassau County NY. Learn more about advanced massage therapy by visiting his website.