CUSTOMER’S QUESTIONS
1. WHAT IS A TRIGGER POINT AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
Trigger Point are caused by overuse, soft tissue damage, strain or any thing that causes insult to the muscle. This also includes difficult births, sports and car accident injuries, poor positure, skeletal imbalance, disease. They can also be activated by psychological, physical stress, stomach ulcers to mention a few.
Trigger Points are nodules or contracted knots of the muscle strands of the muscle tissue that are a results of a complex process within the insulted muscle tissue. It involves both nerve impulses and biochemicals interactions that results in a build up and entrapment of calcium within the sarcomeres that causes them to remain a contracted state. These over stimulated groups of sacomeres within the strands of the muscle that are unable to release their contractions. The muscle fiber and Trigger Point(TP) together resemble a small snake that has swallowed an large egg. Except that the remaining fibers on both ends become thinner and stretched tighter then those of the other surrounding normal muscle fibers.( see trigger point drawing)
Primary trigger points (TPs) are located in the belly of the muscle their secondary or attachment TPs are found in the connective tissue joining the muscle to the bone and both restrict blood flow, oxygen intake and accumulate waste products. Dr Janet Travell found that these primary trigger points formed and controlled these attachment trigger points. She discovered that these trigger points created what is called “referred pain” that are predictable pain patterns in everyone with small variations. She also found that these TPs become electrically active while normal muscle tissue do not. She observed that when pressure was apply on the TPs, it increased the electrical active as well the pain.
Author Bonnie Prudden in her book “Pain Erasure-The Bonnie Prudden Way” tells how according to her, she first accidently discovered how to treat TPs by accidently applying direct pressure to a TP in one of her patients. Suddenly the lady let out a yelp and angerly demand an explanation from Bonnie as to what she had done to her neck. Only to discover she no longer had any pain and could move her neck once again.
According to Author Clair Davies, In his great book The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook, Drs. Travell and Simons believe that trigger points are the primary cause of the pain we suffer today. They thought that doctors who are unaware of this information about the effects of trigger points often misdiagnosed the reasons people are suffering pain. In studies quoted by Travell and Simons suggested that trigger points are a component of up to 93 percent of the pain seen in pain clinics and the sole cause of such pain as much as 85 percent of the time.
2. HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TRIGGER POINTS?
The first indication you may have one is usually a long repeated pain in the same spot or muscle. It is muscle pain that is experienced on a consistent and regular basis especially after doing certain types of stressful activities. It may be just sitting for long periods of time at the computer or just shoveling snow or dirt that activates your trigger points(TPs) in your lower back. It can happen when we stand and work with our head bent downward that activates our TPs between the shoulders blades, upper trapezius and neck.
It might sometimes feel like a hot burning pain between our shoulder blades. At other times it be just deep achy pain. It is always best to see a muscle specialist to confirm what the source of your pain really is. I found Certified Massage Therapists who do trigger point therapy or deep tissue work to be very knowledgeable. I have found each specialist diagonoses the cause of our pain through their training and perceptions. Many have little understanding of trigger point therapy but there are some that are excellent
I have found that Self TP Therapy to compliment other types of treating muscle pain very well. I have used it with both deep tissue massage therapy and chiropractic adjustment with great success. Using the TPPE both before and after these sessions were highly effective in getting better results that also last longer.
3. HOW DOES TRIGGER POINT THERAPY WORK?
When asked why pressing on the trigger point worked? Dr, Travell replied “You are denying the trigger point oxygen.” However author John Sharkey in his book The Concise Book of Neuromuscular Therapy describes how trigger points are created in a much more detailed scientific and complex process. It involves a build up of excess calcium in the sacomeres of the muscle tissue. Along with other factors, that causes it to remain in a state of contraction.
When direct pressure is applied to the trigger point this over powers the energy that is maintaining the contraction and the excess calcium that was being retained. This causes sacomeres to release this excess calcium and allows the muscle fibers to return to a more relaxed state.
4. HOW DOES ONE DECIDE WHICH TRIGGER POINT DEVICE IS BEST?
That’s not easy when you are just starting out because there are alot of choices out there. Each is promising to do the job. When I began searching for some way of treating my own TPs, I tried all kinds of self treating TP devices and found while most worked to some degree I discovered a number of problems with each of them. Some of the ” J & S shaped ” were the most the popular were counter productive because the user had to use their upper arms in order to apply pressure to the upper trapezius. Which simply means the muscle you are treating is the muscle you are using to apply pressure.
GUIDE LINES FOR SELECTING A TP DEVICE
1. WHAT IS THE METHOD OF APPLYING PRESSURE WHEN USING FOR THIS DEVICE AND DOES IT REQUIRE MUCH PHYSICAL EFFORT IS NEEDED TO USE IT?
A. Direct pressure devices held in one hand have a limited range on the body in which you can use them. These require more physical exertion in order to apply direct pressure to your TPs. This requires a certain amount of hand and arm strength in order to stabilize the knob and maintain the necessary constant pressure while treating the TP.
B. Leverage pressure devices that require using both hands in order to use them. These require less energy than the direct pressure devices but still require quite abit. Their body range in which they are effective is limited when compared with the Trigger Point Pain Eraser or TPP Lever. Since the handle portion is round it is hard to grip and control. These devices are usually are the “J” or “S” shaped TP devices which uses leverage like a hammer pulling a nail. This “hook shape”of these devices limits them as true leverage device because of its rigid and un-adjustable anchoring ability. Their large single knob were too big for deeply layered TPs which are around 1/16″ to 1/4″ in diameter wide.
C. Using a true leverage pressure device that uses mostly the weight of hands and arms in order to apply pressure to the TPs. It works on ratio of a 1 to 5, meaning that for every pound of pressure you apply on the TPPL handle you get 5 pound of pressure to the TP. It has a flexible anchoring method which allows you to reach a wide range of TPs over most areas of the body but particularly the difficult areas like neck, shoulders, arms, hands, legs. thighs, armpits and groin. The TPPL has a double knob with a rotating head, a neoprene cover is optional. It is more stable, flexible and offers more pressure with less exertion.
D. Body weight or just the weight of arm and hand to apply pressure to TP
2. DOES THIS TP DEVICE ALLOW ME TO RELAX THE AREA I AM TREATING AND HOW MANY AREAS OF THE BODY WILL I BE ABLE TO COMFORTABLY REACH AND USE IT ON?
A. Head and neck B. upper, mid & lower back C. hips & buttocks D. front, side & back of thighs E. knee & lower leg F. ankles & feet G. chest & stomach H. shoulders & upper arms I. Lower arms & hands
3. WILL THE SIZE OF THE TP KNOBS ALLOW FOR BOTH DEEP MULTI LAYER MUSCLES TPs AND TINY NECK MUSCLE TPs?
A, Most roller type devices have No knobs needed for treating Trigger Points
B. Ball Shaped Devices have too many short knobs which are not effective in applying deep pressure to specific TPs. These devices are usually unstable and roll off the TP when pressure is applied.
C. J & S shape devices with large 1″ to 2″+ single knob – These devices require a lot of use of upper body arm, shoulder and trapezius muscle to use them. You often have use the muscle you are treating this is counterproductive.
D. Double knobs covered with hard rubber – flat broad and removable peg devices which are easy to loose because they fall out and need to change position often.The hard rubber edges often feel like they are cutting into your skin.
E. Double 3/4″ Round wooden knobs on a rotatable base with a soft removable neoprene. To change knob position simply rotate the knob base. It is easy to change knob cover which allows for both deep penetration into big muscles or used to apply a well padded pressure into small ones such as head, neck or hand.
4. HOW MOBILE IS THIS TP DEVICE AND CAN IT BE USED IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AND
POSITIONS?
A. Home
B. Work
C. Theater or Travel
D. Camping
E. Hiking or walking
5. HOW STABLE IS THIS TP DEVICE WHEN PRESSURE IS BRING APPLIED TO DIFFICULT OR HARD TO REACH BODY AREAS.
A. Bottom of feet
B. Back of thigh
C. Back of thighs or legs
D. Under arms or back of upper arms
E. Hand and fingers
F. Outer thighs and hips
6. IF A PERSON HAS A LOT OF TRIGGER POINTS HOW MANY OF THESE TP DEVICES CAN BE USED AT THE SAME TIME ON DIFFERENT PARTS OF THEIR BODY IN ORDER TO SPEED UP THEIR SELF TREATMENT?