trigger point release

Trigger Point Release

Trigger point release therapy uses acupuncture needles to restore healthy tone to tight muscles that are causing pain patterns. It is a little-known approach for the relief of pain throughout the body.

Active trigger points arise from stress, injury, surgery, overuse, and muscle strain. They can cause pain and limited range of motion in any part of the body that is affected. If you have pain, find out if you have active trigger points that can be readily treated using a simple acupuncture technique.

Many pain patterns caused by trigger points can be resolved in 2-3 treatments. More chronic or severe cases can take up to 6-10 treatments, or more. Your individual condition will be evaluated and the expected course of treatment will be explained to you.

Trigger points are influential areas that can be found in every muscle of the body. By stimulating a trigger point with an acupuncture needle, the muscle body contracts with a characteristic "twitch response" that ultimately causes a release of the spasm that is causing restriction and pain. The sensation associated with trigger point release therapy is distinct from other types of acupuncture stimulation. The needle stimulation causes small, repeated muscle contractions that you can feel as a "jumping" muscle under the skin.

After the treatment, the muscle will feel a characteristic "soreness" similar to what is felt when you overwork a muscle at the gym. This wears off naturally in a day or so, and the contraction that caused the original pain is gone, leaving you with increased range of motion and without pain.

Traditional Chinese medicine recognizes the effect of trigger points and refers to them as "ah-shi" points. The acupuncture techniques used to treat them effectively are not widely known in modern times. Most often acupuncturists employ electro-stimulation techniques, which are not the most effective means for relieving trigger points. It can be helpful when consulting an acupuncturist to ask if he or she knows the manual technique for trigger point release.

In the late 20th century, a cardiologist by the name of Janet Travell elucidated the location, causes, and method for release of trigger points in every major muscle group in the body. Even so, it remains an area that is not well-known among conventional physicians or physical therapists. As a result, many people end up going through long series of physical therapy sessions and sometimes surgery without relief, because the trigger points that are causing the pain have not been treated. Surgery itself generally leaves people with active trigger points in surrounding muscle groups that need to be released for pain relief and the restoration of full range of motion.

Sciatic pain can be caused by lumbar disc herniation, but just as frequently it arises from muscle spasms along the pathway of the sciatic nerve. When the muscle spasms are released, the sciatic pain disappears immediately. Without realizing this, many people go through extensive testing of the lumbar spine, including MRIs, and sometimes disc surgery, without ever knowing that their pain may have been caused by a muscle in the hip or the leg. If you have sciatic pain, or know someone who does, acupuncture treatment can often provide simple and effective relief.

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Fees

  • Initial evaluation and treatment: $125
  • Follow up treatments: $90

Please plan 1.5 hours for an initial evaluation and treatment. Follow up treatments are typically 45-60 minutes

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