CHARLOTTE – A buzzword in the massage industry is trigger, as in trigger points. In massage school, we were trained in trigger point therapy. The term trigger point refers to, according to the Mayo Clinic, “sensitive areas of tight muscle fibers that form in your muscles after injuries or overuse. These sensitive areas are called trigger points. A trigger point in a muscle can cause strain and pain throughout the muscle.”
Some people will call the feeling of a trigger point a ‘knot’ in the muscle. This is sometimes disputed but for our purposes in this column, we’ll call it a knot. What does a massage therapist do in a trigger point therapy session? Your therapist will decide how to address the knot or knots in the muscle area that is causing you pain or discomfort. This therapy might consist of added pressure to the knot, feeling like a finger is being pressed into the tightest part of the muscle. The therapist may massage all around the knotted area in hopes to help release the tight muscle fibers in order to relieve your pain.
In my sessions, I don’t normally press on the knots directly. I work the entire muscle in order to relieve the adhesion that seems to be causing your discomfort. I wouldn’t do just a session of trigger point therapy but would utilize this modality in combination with other forms of massage therapy. Remember, there are many roads that lead to the end result: freedom from pain!
-Lisa Lane is a licensed massage therapist in the Mint Hill area. To contact her visit her website at www.ncmassagesanctuary.massagetherapy.com and click book appt.
