"Pressing out" trigger points...anyone else

[Houston Curves]

Okay, this will tell me a lot. Of those of you that suffer, as I do, from severe trigger point pain, has anyone ever suffered so badly (without meds) that you pressed your trigger point into the sharpe corner of a wall to "press out" the tight muscle???? Sometimes I do this until I feel that I am going to be sick, just to partially release the pain. Has anyone else experienced this?

Ann

[Houston Curves]

OK...Guess I'm alone on this one.

Thanks for reading though and my best to all!

Ann

[amae28]

I know what you are talking about!! I like to have people step on this one spot in my back.... sounds, weird, but you prolly know what I'm talking about. I hate having one spot that feels aweful and when you push on it it makes it feel better?? I don't even know if it makes it better, but I always feel like I should push on it. You aren't alone! It's just one of those weird things I guess....
-Abbie

[harmoniesdj]

you are not alone

I often use the corner of a door jam to press on for pain. Also I have a firm foam roll that I lay on & roll back/forth for the same effect. You can find those in a back store or physical therapist.

Also I roll up a big towel securing with rubber bands to form a hard roll & lay on that to get to a tigger point in my back or hip, and another smaller one for my neck. You can use "accupressure" on trigger point to release some of the tightness (find a book on it for effectiveness).

Sometimes I alternate between the foam roller or door jam corner and my massager which has two sets of knobs (Homedics brand). Hurts so good (hey, that's a song too ) Hope this helps.

[VincySweety]

Yep I do press my back onto the corners of walls or push other things into the muscle to try to get the pain to go away... and sometimes it does help. I've never done it to the point of feeling sick though, and also I don't think that it's trigger point pain that I get (although I'm not 100% sure what that means), I do it for muscle pain and discomfort that I tend to get in the lower left part of my spine where the muscles are really tight. Even if it isn't the same kind of pain that we are experiencing, I know what you are talking about because sometimes you'll twist into weird positions and stuff just to try to get comfortable.

[Houston Curves]

Trigger Points

Thanks for all the response. Wow... I thought it was just me. A trigger point is where a muscle contracts tightly, and it is usually due to an imbalance in posture. The muscle tightens up and does not let go, which causes the build up of lactic acid in the muscle (a byproduct metabolizing calcium as an energy source), the contraction of the muscle narrows vessels, which prevents adequate blood flow which would normally remove the build up of lactic acid, and this is what causes the pain... which is the beginning of a very cruel cycle - the pain only makes the trigger point worse. It isn't until the muscle is relaxed again (even if only a little) that the blood flow can be restored and the lactic acid carried away. That's why it doesn't matter to me if its even more painful to "press it out" as it will mean less pain in the long run. I live with these spasms 24/7. I don’t think I've ever been without one since I was 19 or 20, and I really thought it was just me doing just about anything to relieve them.

Anyway, you can usually feel the trigger point through the skin - it feels like a knot. People without scoliosis get them too, but usually due to bad posture or overstressing muscles.

Thanks again for your responses!!!


Ann

[amae28]

One time a couple years ago I had a trigger point injection (cortizone) near my right shoulderblade, and the dr punctured my lung! I ended up in the hospital for a day and a half sucking on oxygen, lol. It didn't feel very good though, and to this day, if ANYONE with scoliosis gets a shot in their back, have them do it under floroscopy!! I don't think my anestesiologist realized how close my lung had been pressed up to my back rib cage from the rotation from the scoliosis.
[side note, sorry]

[Janet]

if ANYONE with scoliosis gets a shot in their back, have them do it under floroscopy!! I don't think my anestesiologist realized how close my lung had been pressed up to my back rib cage from the rotation from the scoliosis.

Thanks for the warning!

If I ever need a tube put into my stomach, they won't have very far to go because my stomach most of the time seems to be at my bra line

[Shari]

Hi Ann,

The 2 years prior to my surgery I had the knots all the time. My job was stressful and I was on my feet for many hours in a day. Fortunately, one of my regular customers studied massage, and when ever she came in, I found time to sneak to the office and she would push then out for me.

I haven't had them since.

Shari