How To Find The Best Sports Massage Therapist Lurking In The Shadows
How To Find The Best Sports Massage Therapist Lurking In The Shadows
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Trigger Point Therapy For Athletes
Trigger point therapy helps athletes maintain a healthy muscle system, which prevents injuries and improves performance. It also helps athletes recover from acute or chronic injuries.
The physical therapist locates and manually manipulates the constricted muscle fibers to release tension and alleviate pain. Afterward, the physical therapist provides instructions on stretching and self-care techniques.
Athletes can benefit from trigger point therapy
Every muscle consists of bundles of muscle fibers that are encased in a web of collagen called fascia. These bundles become tight and tense, leading to trigger points, which feel like little knots under the skin. Trigger point therapy helps to release these knots, improving flexibility and overall muscle function. It also increases circulation and reduces pain and soreness.
A physical therapist can identify these muscle knots through palpation, which is the manual exploration of the muscles by hand. The therapist can then apply sustained pressure directly to the trigger point, which disrupts the nerve signals and chemical build-up that perpetuate the muscle knot.
A physical therapist can use several different methods to treat trigger points, including dry needling. However, this specialized technique requires a specialty certification, so not all practitioners offer it. This treatment can help to reduce discomfort caused by increased areas of muscle tension in chronic pain conditions, acute or sub-acute injuries, and post-surgery, says Borchers.
They can reduce pain
Trigger points can cause pain in the muscles and the surrounding tissues. In fact, studies show that almost all individuals with musculoskeletal pain have trigger points in their muscle. These "knots" are caused by a variety of factors, including poor posture, repetitive physical stress, mechanical imbalance (e.g., leg length inequality), joint disorders and non-restorative sleep.
To treat trigger points, a physical therapist will palpate the affected area and locate the knots. Once found, the therapist will apply sustained pressure to the trigger point for 4 to 8 seconds and then release it slowly. This technique can help break up the cycle of pain-spasm-pain.
The therapist will then stretch the affected muscle to prevent the trigger point from re-forming. They will also provide a self-treatment plan importance of hydration after a sports massage to allow the patient to continue treatment at home with tools such as foam rollers and massage balls. This will help reduce the need for expensive professional sessions and maximize results.
They can improve performance
Whether you’re an athlete looking to get the most out of your performance or just trying to manage pain, trigger point therapy can improve muscle function and help prevent injuries. It can also help you feel more flexible and enhance your range of motion.
Trigger points are tight knots that form when muscle fibers become overly contracted and fail to relax, usually as a result of stress or injury. These knots are often felt as nodules or taut bands that can be quite painful to touch. These tight areas block normal blood flow, and they can cause referred pain to other parts of the body.
Trigger point therapy involves applying pressure to the trigger point, usually using fingers, knuckles, or elbows, for a period of time to deactivate it. The therapist will then apply a stretching technique to elongate the muscle fibers, which can relieve pain and increase flexibility. This can help prevent the trigger point from re-forming.
They can prevent re-injury
Athletes can prevent re-injury by using trigger point therapy to treat the muscle imbalances that cause them. By addressing these imbalances, athletes can heal faster and return to their regular activity more quickly.
Trigger points are taut bands of muscle that produce a referral pain pattern when they are pressed. The referring pain usually occurs in areas that are distant and predictable from the source of the trigger point. In addition to causing pain, myofascial trigger points can also cause weakness and compensation movement patterns in the surrounding muscles.
Athletes who suffer from myofascial pain can benefit from trigger point therapy, which uses several therapeutic modalities, including dry needling and manual therapy. During dry needling, the clinician applies pressure to the trigger point, and the resulting friction activates the muscle and increases blood circulation. This increased blood flow stimulates cellular respiration, which helps the muscle relax. The therapist may feel a crunching sensation as the muscle releases its knots.