Treating Myofascial Trigger Points

A word of caution: When dealing with your headache pain, it’s important to treat myofascial trigger points as soon as possible. This not only helps your myofascial pain from getting worse, but you’re also more likely to get faster relief.

Headache and Migraine pain is treatable. Never assume that the triggers of your tension headache can not be safely and effectively treated with trigger point therapy.

It’s very important that you treat your headache symptoms right away. The longer you wait, the more muscle knots become involved in the chain reaction of referred pain.

The longer myofascial trigger points are left untreated, the more debilitating your headache pain becomes.

The longer you wait, the less likely you are to get complete relief from myofascial pain!

You must break the pain cycle. Anything to help you treat these trigger points must be put into use immediately.

Myofascial trigger point self-treatments, stretching, heat and/or ice, chiropractic or osteopathic treatments, massage and even analgesics like aspirin, Excedrin or ibuprofen, can be used to break the pain cycle.

Trigger point therapy works. By making the trigger points hurt a little bit more, it causes your body to release pain-masking chemicals such as endorphins.

The major factor in the treatment time and effectiveness, is how diligent you are at performing self-treatments and your ability to identify and eliminate triggers that cause your headaches.

Another word of caution: Some of you will get worse, before you get better, especially if you’ve been suffering with tension headaches for awhile.

I encourage you to give any treatment you try some amount of time before you give up. Even if in the beginning, your symptoms get worse, keep at it.

You should see your doctor at once to rule out any serious condition if you have pain in your head with any of the following symptoms:

• Your pain is sudden or starts after a head injury




• Your pain lasts for more than a few days




• The intensity of your pain is greater than your previous headache




• Your headache start after age 50




• Your headaches are triggered by coughing, bending or lying down




• Your headaches cause sever nausea or vomiting

Your doctor should be able to rule out any serious condition. If you are diagnosed with headaches, migraine or temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, you probably can get a lot of pain relief from combining self-treatments of myofascial trigger points and eliminating other causes.

Regardless of the diagnosis, my approach is generally the same: Identify the muscles that are tight and treat the trigger points.

Remember: You don’t have to live with your pain.

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