Who doesn’t love a good shoulder rub? There is a good reason why we all feel better, and take a sigh of relief after someone has rubbed our back or shoulders. The answer is trigger points. Referring to knots or tender points in muscle, this term was started by a medical doctor name Janet Travell. She devoted her life to the study, treatment, and cause of these muscular knots.
With over 600 muscles in the body, some 35-50% of our body’s mass is made up by muscles, and all of them can get tight and sore. Travell spent 40 years researching, and realized that there are four causes of these trigger points: acute muscular overload, fatigue, direct trauma, and chilling. Any one of these mechanisms can cause a cellular change which leads to muscular strain, sensitized nerve endings, increased muscular activity, or decreased circulation to the area. When a companion rubs our shoulders, it sends messages to the brain that we need more blood flow to the area, where tension and discomfort will be decreased.
Many forms of treatment including hot packs, cold packs, massage, stretching, and even exercise can help to alleviate these areas of tension temporarily. Unfortunately they often return, and this is due to the mechanism which started the process to begin with. Often these trigger points are found in postural muscles that we have a tendency to overuse and abuse, and without changing our habits, permanent relief is nowhere to be found.
Relief can by had by using a technique where pressure is applied to the trigger point for 5-60 seconds. This can be repeated once or twice in the same day, but continually digging on the muscle may cause more damage than good. Some soreness may be noted for a day or two afterwards, as the body heals the tissues, but in many cases you will find that muscles work easier and with less stiffness after just a few treatments. Dr. T.J.’s Active Release Technique works quite well on these trigger points, and when combined with home stretching and slight modifications to your posture, it can help get rid of these knots permanently.
Even though Dr. Travell never reached the acclaim of today’s “medical superstars,” she was well respected across the nation. She worked as a professor at Cornell’s Medical School and George Washington University, and eventually earned the title of White House physician during the JFK and LBJ administrations.