Massage therapists often enjoy showing clients something they can do on their own to relieve a chronic trigger point.
I do it too: “Here, try an old tennis ball and lean up against the wall. Just a little pressure, not your whole weight. Keep gentle pressure on the point for 10 to 15 seconds and then gradually lift.”
Most massage clients are surprised by what they can do one their own. But I am mindful of human nature. Like most therapists, I emphasize caution. “Avoid the urge to push too hard. You will be tempted. But too much pressure for too long can make the point come back much worse later. Always do this easy.”
But humanity has its nature. And unfortunately, the numerous videos and self-treatment trigger point therapy books can be the road to perdition.
In the last two years I have had two clients pop in with Olympian trigger points that don’t respond to usual treatment. These trigger points want to stay and drive the clients crazy. What do these two clients have in common? They learned from a book or video how to do their own trigger points.
I had the advantage of learning trigger point therapy in school. The instructors and the books all cautioned students not to go crazy doing trigger points. One by one, every student in my class learned the hard way why trigger point therapy rules are good to follow. I found an especially precious trigger point in my temporalis. I worked it like crazy. Sure that when I erased it I would get relief. Within a few days, I had blinding migraines.
Clients don’t have that experience to help them believe in under-treating trigger points. I am so much more cautious about giving out old tennis balls now.
So what do you do with runaway trigger points? With these clients I tried a few different tactics. The first responded to active release techniques, but the monolith trigger point tended to return after a week or two. The second came around with dedicated, repetitious Swedish massage. I had to get the relaxation system back up and running in the nervous system. Funny, huh?
Trigger Me Mine
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