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Are you Creating Trigger Points?
Trigger points are set off by many things. An injury can create muscle tension and trigger points around it. An
activity that you do in a stretched position for a long time can creat trigger points.
Bad posture and tense movements can create triggers. Fibromyalgia can create triggers. And fnally, stress
breathing can create triggers.
Were going to go through all these in detail and see how we can reduce the likelihood of trigger points in our
day to day lives.
So there are two general types of muscles in our bodies - power muscles and posture muscles. Power muscles
are the ones we use for strong activities - lifting heavy weights, running, jumping, hammering - things like that.
And then there are posture muscles. Posture muscles are what youre probably using now. We use these
muscles for activities like standing upright, sitting, and walking.
Throughout the day, posture muscles are constantly working so that you can stay in balance. And its posture
muscles that are much more likely to get triggers.
Trigger Point Prevention
Dr Jonathan Kuttner
MBBCh, Dip O&G, FRNZCGP, Dip Sports Med, Dip MSM, FAFMM.
www.Treat Your Triggers.com
Theyre not as strong as power muscles, but they work longer and harder. This brings us to the third thing you
need to know about trigger points.
Stronger, ftter muscles get less trigger points. When you do cardio 3-4 hours exercise a week (even gentle
exercise) it
decreases the likelihood that youll get triggers.
This is because when you dont exercise, you posture muscles get weaker. This puts more tension on them,
which makes them more likely to get triggers.
So, in the next section, well look at what you can do to improve your muscle health.
PART 1
Examine your workspace. This is really common for people who work with computers. Check that your desk
and chair is the right height, and you dont have to twist or hunch down to work.
If you spend a lot of time driving, check that you dont crane your neck when you drive.
Look at your posture. Babies and young children tend to have perfect posture, but as we get older, and spend
more time at desks, many of us develop bad habits.
Too many people put unecessary strain on their posture muscles due to the way they hold
themselves.
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As a general rule, you want to elongate through the spine. Check for areas of tension, and relax them.
Imagine theres a thread attached to the top of your head, pulling gently upwards. Most people tend to slump
instead of stand their full height, so this is one way to see if youre doing that.
Over the years Ive found the Alexander Technique a very useful way to learn better posture.
Another school for learning relaxed movement is Feldenkrais.
PART 2
Watch for stress breathing. The scalenes, sternocleidomastoid and pectoralis muscles can be used to help
breathing. Typically, these muscles are used in stress breathing.
That is, if you had to run to escape from a raging bull, youd use these muscles to get more oxygen and breath
faster over a short period of time.
However, if youre a stressful situation or hold a lot of tension in your body, you may fnd youre
using these muscles for everyday breathing.
This does two things. Firstly, this is a fairly ineffcient way of breathing. Its ok in short bursts, but over a long pe-
riod of time, youll end up mildy hyperventilating. (This also creates stress and makes it harder to think straight.)
Secondly, youll be overworking these muscles. This makes it more likely that theyll develop trigger points.
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So if youre fnd youre using stress breathing in day-to-day situations, practise breathing deeply, using your
stomach muscles.
This is much more effcient, and calms your body systems down. Youll have time, and room to breathe.
PART 3
Increase strength in core muscles. When your core muscles are strong, youll have better posture and put less
strain on your posture muscles.
The your core muscles are your abdominals, obliques, transverse abdominus, intra-pelvic muscles, diaphragm,
multifdi and erector spinae.
There are three simple exercises you can do to strengthen this core. Crunches (lie on your back with your
knees bent, and raise your upper body.) Press ups (lie on the foor and push your body up with your arms,
keeping your body straight. Keeping your body straight engages your core.)
Superman leg raises (lie on your front on the foor and raise alternate legs and arms. ie. your left arm and right
leg. Then swap. This strengthens your lower back.)
Having strong core muscles helps to keep your posture muscles well, and reduces the risk of trigger points
developing.
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PART 4
Get a stretching routine. This video describes one I use every
day to stretch my neck muscles. I also do a yoga routine every
morning. It takes about 5 minutes, but it really helps me keep
my muscles relaxed
throughout the day.
Thats it! Thanks for your time and attention, and I hope you
found this manual useful.
If you take your knowledge of Trigger Points and how to treat
them effectively to the next level, then click here to fnd out
about the Trigger Point Course.
.
Best Regards,
Jonathan
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Te information contained in this manual is based on sources and information reasonably believed to be accurate as of the time it
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