latest news
5.3.08
Chosen once again as the team massage therapist for Merit Energy Company's MS150 Fundraising Cycling Team.
12.1.07
Selected by readers of Competitor Texas magazine as a "Best of '07" for Dallas massage therapists.
10.14.07
Selected by Texas Triple Threat, the only private coaching club allowed in the finish area, as their dedicated massage therapist, at the Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon, in Dallas, TX - the championship race in the Lifetime Fitness Series.
6.1.07
Selected by Texas Triple Threat, an endurance sports coaching company and club, as their recommended massage therapist.
5.5.07
Selected by Merit Energy Company as massage therapist for MS150 team.
4.17.07
Did it! Finished Ironman Arizona!
Why Trigger Point Massage
Trigger point, not to be confused with an accupressure point, is a highly irritable localized spot of extreme tenderness in a nodule within a palpable taut band of muscle tissue. Trigger points form in muscles which have been overused or injured. Common characteristics are increased muscle tension and muscle shortening. Increased muscle tension is the primary side-effect of trigger points and pain is the most common secondary effect. Trigger points can present themselves as referred patterns of sensation such as sharp pain, dull ache, tingling, pins and needles, hot or cold, as well as can create symptoms such as nausea, ear ache, equilibrium disturbance, or blurred vision.
Trigger points can exist in two states, either active or latent. Active trigger points are those which cause discomfort. You won't know you have a latent trigger point until you have found it. Latent trigger points are waiting in the muscle for a future stress to activate them. Trigger points are known to cause headaches, neck and jaw pain, low back pain, the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, and many kinds of joint pain mistakenly ascribed to arthritis, tendinitis, bursitis, or ligament injury. Trigger points cause pain as diverse as earaches, dizziness, nausea, heartburn, false heart pain, heart arrhyththmia, tennis elbow, runners knee, and genital pain.
What should I expect?
Trigger point massage is not a relaxing, light technique. It requires the participation of the client to communicate the presence and intensity of pain and discomfort. Once a certain pain threshold is reached the muscles begin to guard against further treatment for a period of time. The therapist and client work together as a team to maximize the effectiveness of the treatment.
It is common to find great improvement after one treatment. Repeated treatment may be necessary for those with chronic trigger points. Ask me to show you how you can treat yourself when a trigger point flares up between massage sessions. Stretching should be done to encourage the muscles that have been treated to stay in a lengthened position.