Having an Agonizing Spot Between Your Shoulders? – Part 3
- 40 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Kicki Hjortmarker is known for her broad knowledge and extensive experience working with the human body and mind to heal injuries and chronic pain conditions. She is the founder of Swedish Balance, dedicated to helping people live a balanced life pain-free.
Neuromuscular massage therapy involves working on trigger points and assessing alignment and posture. Your posture and movement patterns can contribute to the formation of trigger points and may need to be addressed.
Tight muscles can pull you out of proper alignment, so we want your body back in alignment and balance to help prevent trigger points from forming.
When you come in for neuromuscular therapy, a look at your posture can give the therapist a lot of information and a quick idea of what to address first.
I will always begin treatment by warming up the tissues, which will feel like a regular massage to the recipient.
If there appear to be many trigger points that need to be addressed for immediate pain relief, I will begin as soon as possible to palpate the tissues and work the trigger points one by one.
Trigger points don’t always react the same way
Trigger points don’t always react the same way to manipulation, and they don’t build up in the exact same place in each person. Therefore, it is a bit of detective work to find them and determine which ones actively contribute to the pain.
When your therapist palpates the tissues, you might feel a buzzy, shooting, pounding, or electric sensation.
Shooting pain can be a good sign
As your therapist palpates your tissues, shooting or referred pain can occur from a trigger point. This can indicate that the trigger point is contributing to your symptoms and needs to be addressed. Sometimes palpation causes a brief jump or twitch in the tissues. This is called the “twitch response.”
To the therapist, it can feel like hot areas, stringy or ropey muscle lines, a buzz, stickiness, small hard rocks, or massive lumps.
Lighter pressure can be just as effective as harder pressure
Some trigger points require firmer pressure, while others require gentler pressure to let go. When the therapist releases pressure, fresh blood flows back into the area, bringing oxygen and nutrients, and the trigger point deactivates.
However, to address a trigger point, it often needs to be manipulated several times and from different angles, so a series of treatments may be necessary.
Is it painful?
This is a very common question, and the answer is that it doesn’t have to be painful, though it can be. It should never be more painful than you can tolerate. Deep pressure isn’t always better. If the trigger points are very tender, you can always ask your therapist to back off and apply gentler pressure.
Most trigger points respond best to firm, sustained pressure, but others release more effectively when the pressure is lighter and the nervous system feels safe enough to relax.
As the therapist manipulates your tissues and breaks up adhesions, low-grade inflammation can be produced, so there is a fine balance in how much a therapist should work on at once. It is really up to you!
Some people want to feel the pain, so they say, “The harder, the better. Do what you need to do.” Jokingly, others say, “Maybe you have an ice pick or a sledgehammer?”
These are the people who are convinced they won’t improve unless the pressure is extremely intense. I don’t blame them. I’ve been there, too.
Due to adhesions and metabolic waste, you can expect to feel sore for a day or two after a treatment.
Make sure to speak up
Sometimes the therapist needs to apply considerable pressure to break up adhesions, but it should never exceed what you are willing to tolerate, so make sure to speak up! It’s better to speak up than to tense up and signal to the nervous system that you’re not safe enough.
If you are able to breathe through the heavy pressure because you like it, and you and your therapist feel progress, then it’s all good.
But no matter what type of person you are or what kind of pressure you prefer, you will almost always get beneficial results.
However, there are exceptions to the rule, and some people won’t be significantly helped by trigger point work alone. That’s why I personally integrate different modalities and techniques into most treatments.
What does it feel like when a trigger point is released?
You might feel some discomfort when a trigger point is manipulated, but it is soon replaced by relief as the knot loosens.
Depending on what you’re working on with your therapist, manipulating the tissues might change how bones, vertebrae, and joints relate to one another. This can lead to a sense of instability for the next few days until the body has adjusted to the new situation and reached homeostasis.
Be aware that when tissues are broken up, low-grade inflammation symptoms can occur, and you might feel sore. This is normal.
Neuromuscular therapy vs. Deep tissue massage
If you have never had a neuromuscular treatment, also known as trigger point therapy, but would like to get better results from your massages, neuromuscular therapy (NMT) may be worth considering.
Neuromuscular therapy is a form of deeper work, but it is not necessarily deeper than deep tissue massage.
The difference lies in its precision. Rather than working broadly across areas, the therapist identifies specific muscles, trigger points, movement patterns, and postural imbalances that contribute to pain.
A skilled NMT therapist is adept at sensing and feeling where trigger points are located, which ones need to be released so other areas can let go of tension for better mobility, which ones are active, and which ones need to be released for pain relief.
Should I get a follow-up treatment?
If it’s been a week or two since your initial neuromuscular treatment and you still feel discomfort, you should consider a follow-up treatment.
Likewise, if you’ve been in pain for a long time, weeks, months, or even years, you will likely need to accept that the longer you’ve been in pain, the longer it may take to recover fully.
If you’re working to restore your posture and are determined to reduce pain patterns as much as possible to feel pain-free, follow-up treatments may be beneficial.
Take care of your trigger point pain now – call or text Kicki at 323-404-6613, email KickiHjortmarker@gmail.com, or visit my website today.
Read more from Kicki Katarina Hjortmarker
Kicki Katarina Hjortmarker, Holistic Bodyworker
Kicki Hjortmarker has a solid background in the hands-on healing field, treating people with injuries and chronic pain conditions. With a holistic approach, she integrates Neuromuscular Massage Therapy, Craniosacral Therapy, Hypnotherapy, Reiki, Pilates, and more. To practice the artistry of mind/bodywork and massage therapy has been Kicki's lifelong passion. It started with the awareness of her own body as a child and ballet dancer, and, later, as a gymnast who developed chronic lower back pain whilst on the Swedish National Team in Rhythmic Sports Gymnastics. Decades later, she overcame nerve damage and temporary paralysis in one hand. This taught her to trust the healing power of body and mind, and that the body prefers holistic healing methods over conventional treatments. Her mission is to encourage and inspire others to do the same. To trust the healing power of body, mind, and spirit!
