Number One Cause of Pain
One of the most effective ways to help the #1 cause of pain is laser therapy. What is the number one cause of pain? Trigger points! Treating a trigger point with 180-250 joules of laser light combined with manual therapy is a fantastic way to relieve chronic pain. As long as you are trained in how to diagnose primary trigger points, have an accurate diagnosis, and are proficient in laser therapy clinical applications. The main reason laser therapy is not successful as a treatment protocol is lack of proper/sufficient dosage to the ‘intended target tissue.’ You can’t heal it if you can’t reach it.
Ever wonder what can be done to help headaches, neck stiffness, carpal tunnel type symptoms, tennis elbow, bursitis, frozen shoulder, back pain, low back stiffness, sciatica, shin splints? Find a Doctor that is skilled with finding and treating trigger points and you just might find immediate relief for pain that has been afflicting you for years.
Trigger points are accumulations of waste products around a nerve receptor. Often times they feel like nodules or taut bands of fibers within the soft tissues. Trigger points form in muscles that have been overused, injured due to an accident or surgery. Common characteristics are increased muscle tension and muscle shortening. Increased muscle tension is the primary side effect of trigger points and pain is the most common secondary effect.
Trigger points can present themselves as referred patterns of sensation (pain that travels away from the trigger points) such as sharp pain, dull ache, tingling, pins and needles, hot or cold, as well as can create symptoms such as nausea, ear ache, equilibrium disturbance, or blurred vision. Trigger points can exist in two states, either active or latent. Active trigger points are those that cause discomfort. Latent trigger points wait silently in the muscle for a future stress to activate them. Aches and pains which began in the past become more frequent and severe in intensity as we age. It is common to attribute this discomfort to arthritis instead of our tight muscles which harbor trigger points.
Trigger points are not visible with traditional medical testing such as MRI or X-ray and are frequently over looked by most healthcare practitioners as the cause of your pain.
80% of the trigger point locations are common with acupuncture treatment locations. When trigger points are not treated, they will create satellite trigger points in the affected area. For instance, a trigger point in the trapezius muscle may cause a trigger point to appear in the shoulder blade muscle. The trigger point in the shoulder blade is the most common cause of shoulder pain, especially when exercising. And, voilà! - a case of shoulder Rotator Cuff Syndrome. (Not good)
To break-up a trigger point, static compression (pressure) is applied for 10 seconds, released, then pressure applied for 10 more seconds in a pumping action while the client breathes deeply. This action flushes the toxins and calms the nerves. Releasing trigger points releases endorphins so the result is elimination of discomfort as well as being energized.
Determining which “one” is causing the pain is where the specialty comes into play. Not all knots cause pain. That’s why traditional massages usually DO NOT work.
Trigger point massage is not a relaxing, “fluff and buff” technique. It requires the participation of the client to communicate the presence and intensity of pain and discomfort. The doctor and patient work together as a team to maximize the effectiveness of the treatment to ensure long-term relief. It is common to find great improvement after one treatment. Repeated treatment may be necessary for those with chronic trigger points. Stretching should be done as “home work” to encourage the muscles that have been treated to stay in a lengthened position. One reason why people may not have improved with traditional medicine, physical therapy or chiropractic is because these trigger points were never released before treatment began. You cannot stretch, exercise, or rest away a trigger point. It must be actively removed by specialized treatment before any other type of therapy will help.
Research lists nutritional deficiencies or inadequacies as “perpetuating factors.” A good multi-vitamin supplement that is high in anti-oxidants and is in an encapsulated form can help ensure that once treated, trigger points do not reform.
Dr. Perry Nickelston, DC
www.k-laserusa.com 1-866-595-7749 Ext. #2
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