Suffering From Chronic Pain With No Known Cause? Talk To A Chiropractor About Myofascial Therapy
If you have been suffering with pain in muscles or joints and cannot determine the cause, you may be experiencing myofascial pain syndrome. You are feeling the pain in an area that was not injured or damaged. However, there was, at some point, an injury to a trigger point. A trigger point is a spot that sends signals across a network of fascia that spreads throughout the body to surround every muscle, joint and organ. You may have strained the joint in your shoulder but feel constant pain in your fingers. A chiropractor, one like Advanced Chiropractic & Acupuncture, will perform myofascial therapy to release the pain.
The Goal of Myofascial Release Therapy
In most cases, myofascial pain syndrome is caused by the fascia being repeatedly stretched and contracted. This can be from any action that requires repetitive motions, or from muscle spasms due to an injury. It can also be caused when a joint or muscle is stretched in such a manner it does not return to its resting state. The goal of myofascial release therapy is to manipulate the affected muscle or joint in such a way that it allows the connecting fascia to relax.
Myofascial Release Therapy Techniques
Chiropractors use a variety of techniques to cause the release of tension on the fascia. They can trace the pain backwards. If you are feeling the pain in the arch of a foot, the doctor will first try pressing a thumb or finger into the belly of the large muscle at the back of your calf, the gastrocnemius. If a knot or tension is felt, the muscle will be kneaded and massaged to release it. If the muscle has been damaged, physical therapy will be required in addition to the manipulation to help it to heal and align properly.
One session of massage or therapy is not going to put the muscle or joint back to normal permanently if you have been suffering for any length of time. In addition to repeated sessions, the chiropractor may also use
- Acupuncture
- Occupational therapy
- Medications
- Heat and/or ice
Once the referred pain is gone, the therapy should continue to endure the injury is completely healed.
When you visit a chiropractor, it is important that you inform him or her of any injury you have had, even if it was in the distant past. Sometimes, myofascial pain syndrome will not be felt until you have started to compensate for the injury. For example, the pain in your left hip may be from an injury to your right foot that causes you to walk differently. The more information the doctor has, the better he or she can determine the problem and help you to become pain free.
Share