What are trigger points, and can they cause headaches?
Myofascial trigger points are hyper-irritable areas of muscles that will refer pain in a predictable pattern, particularly when you press on them. A trigger point can be described as a tight band of tissue located within a larger muscle group.
Patients may have regional, persistent pain resulting in a decreased range of motion in the affected muscles. For example, trigger points in your trapezius muscle predictably refer pain to the areas in the below pictures as well as pain, discomfort or limited range of motion in their neck.
Trigger points in other muscles around your neck will also refer pain to various areas of your head and face.
So yes, myofascial trigger points can cause headaches.
Does Science Support Trigger Points?
Research indicates that no one knows what the exact tissue is that makes you feel trigger points. It is also unknown why some people feel pain when touching muscle knots, and some people do not. Is it muscles? Fascia? Nerves? Despite extensive investigations, it is still not clear what is so special about these tender areas that cause them to refer pain and be a source of discomfort.
Although science cannot explain why some trigger points hurt and some trigger points are simply muscle knots. It is theorized that trigger points, the tight bands of muscle and fascia tissue, become so tense that blood flow to the tissue is limited.
This creates a “metabolic crisis” in the tissue, resulting in decreased oxygen and nutrients in the tissue resulting in a reduced circulation-pain cycle; this cycle can be challenging to interrupt.
At the end of the day, regardless of the specific physiology behind trigger points, they can be a source of discomfort not only in your head and face but in a wide variety of other areas in your body.
Once it is identified that trigger points are contributing to your symptoms, here are some treatments to help alleviate the discomfort, treat the trigger points and restore your function.
Specific soft tissue treatments to the trigger points this would include things like:
o Active Release Techniques (ART)
o Trigenics
o Massage
o Shockwave (in persistent cases)
• Activating the muscle with specific exercises this increases the blood flow to the muscles and helps them work in a full range of motion
• Acupuncture
• Chiropractic adjustments to restore normal spinal movement and to facilitate a complete range of motion.
If you suffer from headaches caused by trigger points or, for that matter, caused by a variety of other issues, your doctor of chiropractic can help by providing any of the above or combination of the above treatments-this can be highly effective at reducing both the frequency and intensity of headaches. At Sun Chiropractic, we offer all of the above treatments.
