What to do with sore muscles? 

So what is a trigger point? A trigger point is a particular spot within a muscle that has become very irritated and painful. Most commonly, trigger points can present in the upper back, neck and shoulders. In the doctors office, we see this most commonly as a result of poor posture or a repeated activity (like lifting or working above your head).  Here is a link to an in-depth article on trigger points (https://www.aafp.org/afp/2002/0215/p653.html). 

Interestingly, the term trigger point  can be misleading and the pain they cause can start in one location and spread or radiate to another. 

How do we manage trigger points? Like anything in medicine it is important to think about what activities you have been involved in – like writing a blog post for example and think about how that activity could caused a muscular injury. 

• The first step to managing trigger points is to stop the activity causing the pain or change how you complete the activity (i.e. sitting in a position that doesn’t cause you to hunch forward and strain your neck). 
• The second step may be taking medications such as tylenol or advil. Generally for trigger points I recommend 1000 mg of acetaminophen (tylenol) taken three times per day for most patients and also recommend people take ibuprofen (advil) in between doses of tylenol. Lastly, I will also recommend that patients can apply a topical anti-inflammatory like diclofenac (voltaren) as well to help treat the trigger point. 
• The third step usually involves a clinician deciding to either use dry-needling or injecting local anesthetic into the trigger point. By using a needle to disrupt the trigger point there is often some relief of the pain. Usually a combination of all three treatmention options is key to help treat trigger points! 

I’m looking to sharing more information regarding common things we see in the office here!

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