As a trigger point, we call painful points of the muscles or the fascia that surrounds them, which become distinct when they are palpated. These are micro-injuries to the skeletal muscle fibers, causing some of them to contract and lose their elasticity. This contraction results in pain, which in some cases can become unbearable when palpating the point.
Trigger points look like a knot or a tight band of a muscle and the pain caused by them can also appear in places far away from the injured area. In fact, in almost 3 out of 4 cases, the point where the patient feels pain is different from where the focus of the trigger point is created. Common symptoms of the condition are headache and migraines, lumbago (lower back pain) and lumbago, neck pain and dizziness.
Trigger points are divided into 2 separate categories, active and inactive. In the first category we find trigger points whose presence causes pain, soreness, numbness, restriction of movement and pain during pressure or after stretching (stretching) of the muscle.
Inactive we call trigger points that have either been formed but have no obvious symptoms in the patient, or were active and not treated properly, as a result of which they remain in a lethargic state with the possibility of reappearing later.
In order to deal with trigger points, it is first necessary to correctly diagnose and identify the trigger point. Then, their treatment is carried out either with ischemic pressures and stretches or with the use of a dry needle.
In the case of acupuncture, a thin, flexible single-use needle is inserted and moved repeatedly to the trigger point. This results in the local contraction of the muscle, thanks to which muscle relaxation is caused, and consequently, pain reduction.
