Trigger Point Therapy Workbook 2nd Edn*******: Your Self-Treatment for Pain Relief

Everybody needs to be aware of trigger points and their profound importance on pain and health.Clair Davies has written a very important book on this based on his experience as a therapist and inspired by Travell and Simons's original book on myofascial pain. I found this book recently as I was researching my hip problems. I had suddenly developed pain in my buttocks, hip and knee for no obvious reason. I rapidly became unable to climb stairs and walking just a few yards had my bum muscles screwed up so badly I could not walk further. My sciatic nerve was firing with any movement causing me a great deal of pain. My GP thought it was tendinitis and it would probably sort itself out... After six weeks of misery I found this book, diagnosed myself (piriformis syndrome) and started self treatment. The book is so easy to use: I found the offending trigger points in my gluteus muscles and worked on them all day. By evening I had cleared them well enough to walk and use the stairs. I was ecstatic. Over the last six weeks I have been getting better and better, but I am left with the inescapable thought: WHY THE HELL DON'T THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS KNOW ABOUT TRIGGER POINTS? (It appears that 80% of all muscular pain is related to trigger points.) Isn't it time they got on board? Excellent book: cannot recommend it enough!

Once you flip through the pages of California-style introduction and background this is a straightforward, detailed, guide to the things that go wrong with muscles and how you might be able to fix them. But unless you are already familiar with muscles (I wasn't) be prepared to put in a lot of time and effort to locate the trigger points causing problems, and then to treat them. And to think about the original cause of the problem (eg computer use) and how to stop the problem recurring. I also agree with another reviewer who noted that the author too readily gives the impression that any problem can be cured by trigger point massage. However, as it costs nothing and is very unlikely to do any harm, give it a go. I found several trigger points which are undoubtedly giving me pain after the first few hours of reading the book. If you can work with a partner, it's better, but if, like me, you have weak and painful hands and wrists, do pay attention to the author's advice on how to avoid making them worse by doing massage the wrong way.

If you have unexplained pain, there's a good chance it will be caused by a trigger point, and this book shows how to treat them yourself though massage. You can google about trigger points, but they are basically small cramps in muscle tissue, often in individual or only a few muscle fibres (cells). They cause pain because they are tightening and therefore stressing the tissue they connect to. A friend was diagnosed as having carpal tunnel syndrome in her wrist and her Dr had her down for surgery. She used my copy of this book to treat herself - surgery not necessary! It should be available on the NHS, and every GP should have one. ---- update for further info ---- The book gives an overview of the medical background of the author and of the medical science that the material in the book is based on. This is mainstream medical science, it is not some new-age crystal-bothering nonsense. The book tells you how to treat the trigger points yourself (although having a partner who can do it for you is preferable, as you can relax), and how often to do so, and explains the effects. The heart of the book is maps of the body, and is based around two main points: a) identifying the area of pain - shown in body diagrams b) identifying the likely places where the trigger points may be - also given by body diagrams It is usually the case that these two locations are different, though not necessarily. The books explains why this is the case. So, if you have, say, a pain in your back, you would go to the contents page and find the beginning page of the Back chapter. On that page, you would look through the body diagrams until you saw one which showed the area where you experience pain - this would in turn show you where the area(s) containing the trigger points would possibly be, explaining which is the most likely. You then treat the trigger points as described in the general section earlier in the book. Often you will get a sense of some relief immediately although it can take days to remove the problem entirely, and you can make the trigger points sore if you overdo it. Once you find it works for one thing, it will be your first recourse for new pains (bearing in mind, these are muscle and tendon related issues). Another more general treatment is "Bowen" - this can be very effective too - but that's another book and does not have medical science backing yet (as far as I know), although it is empirically effective.

I have been battling facial and TMJ pain for over eight years, and have sought the help of every kind of health care professional that I thought could possibly help relieve my nearly constant pain, all to no avail (GP, several dentists, orthodontists, a rheumatologist, a physiotherapist, and a maxillofacial surgeon). Finally, with the aid of this book, I am making steady progress in alleviating my suffering. It offers a simple, proven method for self-therapy by addressing a misunderstood and often-overlooked source of the great majority of chronic pain - trigger points that can develop in every muscle of the body. Beginning with the history of how the author came to write this book (and how he became a massage therapist because of his own chronic pain) & an explanation of the underlying theory of trigger points, the book presents a vast amount of information in a logical, clear & easily-understood manner with excellent illustrations that clarify the text. The author makes it clear that performing deep pressure massage of trigger points properly will hurt (and it does, sometimes a lot), but I have found that brief periods of medium to moderate pain are preferable to the torture of constant low-level chronic pain. A nasty old low back problem happened to return with a vengeance while I was early into the book, and I used its techniques to tackle it within a few days, killing the pain that even my chiropractor could not quell. (As explained in the book, a Theracane is necessary or at least recommended for massaging some areas, so I bought one for forty bucks - a good investment). In summary - the book is well worth the price, which is half of the cost of a single visit to my chiropractor. If my review can lead to even one other person using this book to find relief, I will consider the time spent writing it worthwhile.

簡単に言ってしまうと、マッサージのやり方が書いてある本です。 『誰でもできるトリカーホイントの探し方・治し方』という名前で翻訳もされていて、そちらは五千円を超える高価な本ですが、それでも非常に評価が高いです。 首痛、腰痛や五十肩などに代表される慢性的な筋肉の痛みのほとんどはトリガーポイントという筋肉が凝った部分が出来るために生じるのであり、そこをほぐしてやれば首痛、腰痛や五十肩などは改善する、という理屈にもとづいて、身体のある部分に痛みがある場合、身体のどの部分をどのようにマッサージすればいいか、誰にでも分かるように多くの図を使ってわかりやすく解説しています。 ちなみに拳銃の引き金のことも英語でトリガーといいますが、まさに痛みの引き金となっているのがトリガーポイントだということです。 やっていることの外形を見れば似たようなもんですが、日本で主流のツボや経絡を中心に刺激するあんま、指圧系のマッサージとは、原理的には全く違うものです。 トリガーポイントの理屈を前提に、痛みの緩和という場面だけに限って両者を比較すると、ツボを刺激し気の流れをよくすることによってトリガーポイントの凝りがほぐれることを期待するツボや経絡を刺激する従来型のマッサージより、痛みの原因のトリガーポイントをじかにほぐすトリガーポイントセラピーのほうが、より痛みにたいして直接的なセラピーだということになるのではないかと思います。 この本の特徴は、セルフケアに重点が置かれてるところです。 背中などの自分の手が届きにくい部分は道具を使ってマッサージをする方法が詳しく書かれています。 セラケーンという道具を使った方法が多いですが、テニスボールなどを使用する方法なども解説されています。 ツボ押しのための道具でも代用できるかと思い試してみましたが、ツボ刺激を目的とする器具は先端が尖っているものが多いので、トリガーポイントをほぐすのには向いていません。 セラケーンか、類似品でより多機能なボディーバックバディー（どちらもアマゾンで購入可能）のような、先端があまり尖っていない丸まっているものが適していると思います。 ちなみに私はボディーパックバディーを購入しました。 実際にこの本の指示通りにマッサージをしたところ、かなりの即効性があります。 数日やっただけで頑固な首の痛みがかなり軽減し、固まっていた肩の関節がかなり緩んできたような気がします。 数週間続ければ、日常生活ではほとんど気にならないレベルまで痛みが軽減するのではないかと思います。 英語が読める方であれば、原本で読まれた方がかなり安上がりで、日本語訳との差額にわずかにプラスするだけでセラケーンかボディーバックバディーのどちらかまで購入できます。 全身の筋肉の名前やいろいろな身体の症状など、一般書ではあまりお目にかからない単語も多く出てきますが、図を使った解説が多いので、そんなに難しくはありません。 医療系の勉強をされている方などは、図入りの解説で筋肉の名前が覚えられていいのではないでしょうか 医学の専門書ではなく、一般向けに書かれた本なので、語彙以外に難しいところはありません。 英語が読める方で、首痛、肩こり、腰痛などの症状に苦しんでるかたには是非おすすめしたい本です。 英語が読めない方も、五千円以上出して日本語訳を買っても損はしないと思います。 ちなみに本書の翻訳をした同じメンバーが、「誰でもできるトリガーポイントの探し方・治し方 【腰痛】」という紛らわしい名前の本も翻訳していますが、これは"Trigger Point Therapy for Low Back Pain: A Self-Treatment Workbook"という違う著者の本の翻訳（ちなみにこの本も評価が高い）。 この本の著者の"The Frozen Shoulder Workbook: Trigger Point Therapy for Overcoming Pain & Regaining Range of Motion"という肩の症状に特化した著作の日本語訳は、現在のところまだ出ていないようです。

I originally purchased this book along with Body Back Buddy Classic Trigger Point Massager - Pain Relief Self Massage Tool - The Best Self Massage Tool - with a 12 page instruction booklet for my husband to use for his back pain. A few months later when I started experiencing pain in the back of my thighs, calves, and buttocks, I had to use this book too. I'd been having pain off and on in those areas for a few months and didn't think much about it because it never lasted very long and the pain would go away for months at a time then come back. Then came the day that the pain didn't go away & a deep, throbbing ache would wake me up every night. Sometimes I'd feel nauseous from the pain. I started using the Body Back Massager on my painful areas...but it didn't help. Using a heating pad & taking 2 naproxen at a time barely helped. I thought it was time for me to pull out this book and begin reading. I learned that massaging my painful areas wasn't going to relieve me of my pain...I had to massage the myofascial trigger points. In a nutshell, myofascial trigger points are tender or painful areas on muscles (when pressed firmly) that refer pain to other areas. Pressing on the trigger point will usually send pain to the very areas you're experiencing it. Once I applied the proper deep stroke massage to the trigger points (I used the Body Back Buddy Classic Trigger Point Massager - Pain Relief Self Massage Tool - The Best Self Massage Tool - with a 12 page instruction booklet ), the referred pain went away. It took about 1 1/2 days of using the proper technique for me to sleep through the night without waking up at 3 AM in pain. I still have some discomfort & will continue massaging the trigger points (I had several) at least 6 times a day. Be sure to read Chapter Three to learn the proper way to massage myofascial trigger points. Actually, I recommend reading the first 3 chapters to learn all about myofascial trigger points and some of the surprising causes: allergies, anxiety & tension, vitamin and/or mineral deficiencies, sitting too long, surgery, slings, casts, injection in the gluteal muscle, & calcium channel blockers, to name a few. Surprising myofascial trigger point symptoms range from wetting the bed, dizziness, tinnitus, carpal tunnel, swollen ankles, feet, hands or wrists, excessive eye tearing, sinus problems; for women: painful intercourse, menstrual pain, again naming a few. Even arthritis & herniated discs have trigger points, so deep stroke massage on those trigger points can diminish pain for these & other conditions. Chronic pain is also covered & is harder to treat. I highly recommend this book. It is easy to use; the myofascial trigger points are represented by black circles, the areas the trigger points refer pain to are shaded in. The book is broken down into sections such as head and neck; shoulder, upper back & upper arm; elbow forearm & hand; midback, low back, & buttock pain; to name a few, with clear illustrations throughout the book. Myofascia trigger points in the entire body are covered. Many chapters include a true life experience of someone who has experienced pain, what caused it and how they dealt with it. Also, this book shows how to use your hands, elbows, tennis balls, etc. to massage the trigger points; it also has illustrations using the Thera Cane and references the Knobble & Backnobber. In my experience the Body Back Buddy Massager worked fine. UPDATE: After finally ridding myself of the deep, aching pain that was waking me regularly, I developed off and on pain (not as bad) in another close-by area. I've had a hard time finding any trigger points, continued using the Body Back massager, and decided to add calcium supplements (recommended in this book) to my diet. I don't drink milk because I'm lactose intolerant. It seems that the calcium supplements are helping; the off & on pain is lessening. update...after using calcium citrate supplements for about a month...the off & on pain is completely gone! I never would've guessed that in each case of pain I experienced...that the solutions would've been so simple.

J'ai commandé cet ouvrage en 2009 pour traiter une tendinite invalidante et récalcitrante au coude (partie médiale). Guérie en une seule journée et n'est plus jamais réapparue, un vrai miracle! Cet ouvrage est très complet et richement illustré, même si les illustrations ne sont pas particulièrement sexy et sont en noir et blanc. Le format large est bien adapté. Outre le traitement des trigger points, l'auteur donne également des conseils pour prévenir leur formation. Au final, un des ouvrages les plus utiles que j'ai lus.

Recommended by my massage therapist so I ordered it and am glad that I did. Understanding your trigger points is the point of departure for improving your health.