Procedural Overview

 

Sometimes, due to injuries or overstress, certain areas in our muscles can become strained, triggering pain that is localized but affects the entire muscle group and movements. These points are called trigger points or “muscle knots'' which affect each individual differently. If this pain persists or intensifies then the condition is called Myofascial Pain Syndrome. Trigger points are spread throughout the body and many times people suffer from pain emanating from multiple trigger points. The diagnosis of the pain caused by trigger points is challenging as there can be several reasons a person is ailing from muscle pain. 

 

Symptoms

 

Individuals ailing from trigger points might feel localized muscle pain and that specific part can be sensed as tender or stiff. Since the impact area of trigger points is confined, patients have reported that trigger points give a feeling that the affected muscles are being hindered by “an object” accompanied by deep pain. Many times the pain does not go away, becoming constant, despite the muscle group being at rest. There are possibilities of severe referred pain too in patients that occurs at a different location than the affected trigger point.

 

Causes

 

Unfortunately, the precise medical conditions and reasons that lead to the formation of trigger points are not well-known. However, it is believed that when a muscle becomes tightly cramped or starts to spasm, it chokes its own blood flow, leading to aches. Some of the plausible causes are overuse and stress on muscles caused due to certain orthopedic conditions. Physicians think that even anxiety and mental stress can form trigger points as such patients are believed to clinch muscles unknowingly for prolonged periods of time. However, doctors sometimes identify the pain as “referred pain” which is caused due to a trigger point at a different location in the body.

 

Treatments

 

Myofascial trigger point treatment is targeted towards relaxing the concerned muscle and decreasing the inflammation – if any. At our clinics, doctors may go for various therapy methods like massages, spray and stretch techniques, ultrasonography, and invasive treatments like acupuncture. If these therapies do not bring any improvement in the pain condition, then to impart medication, trigger point injections are directly administered on the point of origin by a chronic pain specialist providing quick and extended relief to the patient. Dunes Pain Specialists are well-versed with every treatment method present in the domain.