What Are Trigger Points?
Trigger points are specific, hyperirritable and hypersensitive areas in muscle that cause the muscle to suffer from decreased blood circulation, increased contraction and spasm, and a build up of toxins and waste. Lack of circulation creates a high level of toxins and increased nerve sensitivity which can range from a low ache to a sharp pain.
Healthy muscle fibers are neither contracted nor stretched when they are at rest. When contracted the muscle fibers are closer together and when stretched, further apart. In a muscle that is causing trigger point pain, the fiber develops a knot and is in a constant state of contraction. The fiber around these knots is stretched by the excess tension and the muscle fiber becomes tighter. With the continuous contraction, blood flow is restricted in the trigger point area and essential oxygen and nutrients are prevented from reaching the muscle tissue. Toxins and waste build up in the muscle causing you pain, tension, irritation, and spasm.
In the case of trigger points in the hip, just because the trigger point causes the pain does not mean that the location of the trigger point itself is painful. When the pain is located at a tense muscle spot it is called a primary trigger point. However, pain can also manifest itself in areas away from the active trigger point - such pain is called referred pain. It is important to treat the trigger point that causes the referred pain and not the location of the pain itself.
Tigger points cause pain more often than any other condition and are drastically under-diagnosed due to lack of information. Trigger point pain is usually a factor in most injuries although treating the trigger points is often overlooked. A common condition related to triggers points is known as myofascial pain.
Symptoms of Trigger Point Pain
The trigger point will usually become more tender or sting when you push on the spot and the referred pain will increase in intensity. Other symptoms include:
- you will feel a knot or hard lump at the spot
- the muscle may twitch when the spot is pushed
- a deep ache over the hip, buttocks, and/or down the leg
- sharp pain on the hip, buttocks, and thigh
Causes of Trigger Point Pain
Tender trigger points typically develop from lack of stretching or improper stretching but can also be caused from stress/trauma, overuse or overburdening of a muscle and poor posture. Other common causes are:
- sitting without firm back support (slumped posture)
- prolonged sitting in a chair without armrests, or armrests that are too high, or too low (leaning to one side)
- one leg shorter than the other
- prolonged improper sleeping position
- bending, lifting, digging or vacuuming while twisting
- swinging a golf club
- immobility for long periods of time (i.e. plane rides, working at a computer, resting on a couch for another injury)
- walking with a cane that is too long
Reduced circulation in trigger points will eventually lead to muscle shortening and restricted movement which further accentuates the pain, thus completing a cycle of decreased mobility and further pain. This commonly becomes the underlying cause of chronic hip pain and tight hip flexors, and the patient will continue to suffer from these until the problem trigger points are treated directly.
Mild Trigger Points can be addressed sometimes through massage and some sufferers maintain that acupuncture treats these problems as well, though it is not accepted by many medical institutions. Permanent removal of chronic trigger points and conditions caused by this, typically requires treatment using BFST®.
Treating Trigger Point Pain - What You Can Do!
If you have pain in your hip, buttock, lower back and thigh caused by tense, constricted muscles Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™ is the most effective treatment for your trigger points. The trick to getting rid of th pain is loosening the knots to release the constricted muscle fibers. This will allow blood to flow through the fibers once again, bringing the vital oxygen and nutrients required for healthy tissue. The most effective and painfree way to loosen the knots is with the Inferno Wrap®.
In addition, you want to get your muscle tissue back in the best possible condition you can. To do this, it is important to treat the scar tissue that forms in the muscle when the damaged tissue begins to heal - something the Inferno Wrap® is great at! Even with optimum healing, there is always less elasticity in previously injured muscles fibers. However, if you heal your trigger point pain properly with BFST® and treat scar tissue build up, your chance of chronic trigger point pain and hip conditions later on is much lower than average.
There are healing tools that can help treat your hip muscle trigger point pain and speed up the healing process so you can get back to a life without further pain. Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™ (BFST®) will loosen the knots at the trigger points, treat scar tissue, and promote blood flow to loosen your constricted muscles and heal the fibers faster and more completely than any other methods available.
Once the inflammation caused by the trigger points has been reduced through use of the Freezie Wrap®, nourishing and strengthening the muscle tissue and surrounding area is recommended. Using Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™ will speed your recovery, increase elasticity of your treated muscles and help heal your hip more completely. Talk to your doctor or physical therapist to find out which exercises are appropriate for your situation.
Inferno Wrap® Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™
After severe inflammation and swelling is reduced you can begin to treat your hip muscles with Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™ (BFST®). BFST® increases the amount of blood that flows naturally to your shoulder to nourish your soft tissue to speed healing.
The hip naturally receives a limited blood supply and when you stop moving your leg and hip because of the pain, the blood flow is reduced even further limiting your body's natural ability to heal itself.
By treating your hip and thigh trigger points with BFST® you can increase your body's blood supply to the muscle fibers and increase your body's natural healing power.
An Inferno Wrap® is the tool you need to treat your sore hip because it speeds healing and relaxes the surrounding muscles. With BFST®, tissues are safely and gently stimulated. Your body responds with a rapid increase in blood flow to the area, increasing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to injured tissue cells to promote healing. Our Back/Hip Inferno Wrap® provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief and healing with no side effects.
In addition, the improved blood flow whisks away dead cells and toxins that have built up from your trigger point pain. When you stop moving your hip and leg due to pain, your muscles and other tissue can become weaker and dead cells and toxins in the area can cause further tissue deterioration - this can lead to atrophy. By clearing the area of toxins and increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients to your muscle and other tissue, the risk of atrophy (muscle weakness and/or deterioration) is greatly reduced. Keeping your leg, hip, and buttock muscle tissue as healthy as possible throughout the healing process will allow you to improve hip strength and flexibility once your pain has gone and your trigger point pain has healed.
Would you like to discuss your Trigger Points Pain or other conditions with a MendMyHip Advisor?
We welcome you to call our office, toll free, at 1-866-237-9608 on weekdays between 8:00am and 9:00pm Eastern Standard Time or weekends between 11:00am and 6:00pm.
There is no cost or obligation for this service and we will do our best to help provide you with the information you need. Our extensive and on-going research could be of great benefit in helping you overcome your hip pain once and for all.
Living with hip pain is never easy and we can provide answers about causes of the pain, treatment options, potential stretches/ exercise to consider, and ways to manage the condition for the short & long term. Best of all, we can show you what worked for hundreds of our previous clients.
All it takes is one phone call ~ 1-866-237-9608
With these 3 easy-to-use, pain-free, home therapies from MendMyHip, pain is significantly reduced, tissue heals faster, and there's an incredible improvement in the range of motion of your hip. The more diligent you are with your treatment and rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results!
We've helped thousands of people treat their painful injuries and conditions to get them back on the road to a pain-free life!
Our customers have tried other common hip treatments, such as cortisone injections, pain killers, physical therapy, NSAIDs, and simply staying off their feet to give their hip the rest it needs, all without lasting results - until they found our incredible therapies! In addition, our customers include physicians, professional athletes, sports trainers and coaches, physical therapists, and nurses. These professionals rely on products from MendMyHip to treat their patients, players, and themselves. Click here to read more about their experience with MendMyHip!
Please be aware that this information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider before using any of our outstanding products to make sure they're right for you and your condition or if you have any questions regarding a medical condition. It is recommended that you see your doctor for a proper diagnosis as there are many injuries and conditions that could be the cause of your pain.