What Are Trigger Points?

Trigger points are an area of muscle which is tender. Chiropractors can feel these areas in your muscle as being of slightly different tension to the rest of the muscle. Our patients often ask “how come you knew that bit was painful?” and one reason is our ability to feel the difference but also with our many years of experience here at Le Roux Chiropractic we know approximately where they are found for certain muscles. They are different in everybody however, no patient is ever the same.

Recent research has suggested that they are caused by sensitisation of peripheral nerves possibly due to inflammation causing this hyperalgesia (increased pain area) in a muscle that is otherwise healthy.

Trigger points in muscles often refer pain to specific areas and are often the cause for leg pain associated with low back pain in the absence of nerve impingement, they often cause headaches when they are present in the neck and shoulder muscles. They can also be responsible for arm pain when the shoulder or chest muscles are involved.

Our chiropractors here at Le Roux Chiropractic are well equipped to treat these with various methods from manual trigger point therapy, occasionally with a tool, acupuncture, ultrasound etc.

(Photos Top left trigger points causing headaches, Middle left trigger points causing leg pain, bottom right trigger points causing arm pain)