The Unexpected, Sneaky Cause of Muscle Pain

THE UNEXPECTED, SNEAKY CAUSE OF MUSCLE PAIN

REAL SIMPLE, OCTOBER 2019

JANE BIANCHI

Tiny knots known as “trigger points” can radiate discomfort throughout your body. Here’s how to get rid of them.

When it comes to muscle pain, sometimes the spot where you feel the pain isn’t the spot that’s causing the pain; instead, the discomfort could be the result of a “trigger point,” or a hyperirritable band of muscle that can register as soreness in another area of your body.

What Causes Trigger Points? 

Typically, trigger points are the result of an acute trauma, like a car accident, or a repetitive micro-trauma, like running long distances for months or years with improper form; poor posture; or a stress-induced clenching of muscles.

If you have trigger points, it means your fascial system, or connective tissue system, has been compromised, a musculoskeletal condition called myofascial pain syndrome. “Fascia is like saran wrap that covers muscle tissue and envelopes it, almost like a bag,” Bianca Beldini, a doctor of physical therapy and licensed acupuncturist at Sundala Center for Wellness in New York City, explains. When a muscle becomes overworked, it starts to swell in that fascial bag and can result in hypoxia, a decrease in oxygenation of the muscle tissue. “So the muscle is basically suffocating,” Beldini says, and that only makes the swelling worse. “A trigger point is a fascial knot and you can actually feel it—it’s palpable. When muscles swell, we need to release that fascial tension.”

To read the article on Real Simple click here

The Subscapularis trigger point can be a contributor to “Frozen Shoulder”