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Migraine Savvy Monthly Newsletter Issue 15 May 30th 2012 Trigger Point Therapy for Migraines May 30, 2012 |
To,Trigger Point Therapy for Migraine Reduction
May 2012 – Issue 15 – Trigger Point Therapy The continuing pursuit for migraine elimination and pain reduction Editors Note: I hate needles. And I mean I – well – lets just say I fainted getting my ears pierced as a teenager. Acupuncture was last on my list to try for a migraine ‘cure’. Three years later and with weekly visits, I am still not fond of needles. My most recent doctor is also an osteopath and has suggested myofascial release for pain reduction and trigger point therapy. This means needles and lots of them. The things I do in my continuing pursuit for migraine elimination and pain reduction is just scary.
Myofascial Pain Trigger Points According to my Osteopathic Doctor, normal muscle function provides easy movement for limbs and joints. You should not experience pain from pressure, tight bands or muscle knots or twitching in response to pressure with normally functioning muscles. Trigger points are formed and activated by acute overload, overuse, over stretching, direct impact, and fatigue. It may take years to fully recover from an injury and trigger points can remain latent for years after causing mild to severe dysfunction. What do we really know about this in relation to migraines? The muscles in the neck can lead to one sided pain and eye pain, which sounds really familiar to me. How about you? Active Trigger points cause pain. An old injury can be ‘reactivated’ from even minor movements, over stretching, or over work, over use of the muscle. Slowly the restriction will lead to dysfunction and finally tight knots and pain. The
treatment
involves: 1. Injecting the local anesthetic 0.2-1.0mL of 1% Lignocaine into the tight muscle knots at the trigger point. 2. Gently dry needling and manually stretching the muscles at the trigger points “to break up the abnormal muscle bands” and release the trigger point. The actual manual stretching is a specific style of muscle energy release which uses a “contraction and relaxation technique”. The anesthetic inactivates the trigger point thus releasing the tight knots in the muscle and the stretching normalizes the “affected muscle function”. In some cases stretching at home will be required to maintain the most beneficial results from the treatment. There should be immediate relief from the pain, depending on how long you have been suffering and how old the injury is. The following day you may experience a little discomfort after the new movement has been introduced to the area. The continued stretching should reduce stiffness
and continue to support freedom of movement. It may take a few visits and treatments depending on the severity of your injury.
Ask the Editor Do you have a question you’d like to ask the editor on this topic? If so please
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Your Input – Give YOUR Migraine A Voice
This is a safe forum to express your troubles – tell your story – show your art - find solutions with new ideas - and get professional health advice . Just click on the links underlined above if you would like to contribute. Remember that your contribution will help others too! We are not in this alone, even though it feels like it most of the time. Our stories and input can help each other. My Questions to You Have you tried Trigger Point Therapy for your migraines? What were your results?
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to tell us.
The next issue is: Issue 16 – TBA I hope you ENJOYED this issue of The Pain Chronicles! If you’ve missed an issue click here to read the back issues.
And before I forget! Please send this to your friends and family. It’s time to spread the word about Migraines and educate our loved ones! They can click on this link to
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