Male patient with 59 years of age resorted to acupuncture treatments in Policonsult Medical Clinic referring to the existence of pain in the supraorbital region (above the eye) and in the region of temples that bothered him for 8-9 months.
A semiological analysis of patient’s symptoms failed to set any specific Chinese Medicine clinical pattern so the diagnosis was inconclusive. However it was possible to verify the existence of active trigger points in the trapezius muscle near the acupuncture point GB21/jianjing (gallbladder).
Acupuncture was the therapy of choice in treating this patient. In all were made six acupuncture treatments. The patient responded very positively to acupuncture treatment noticing a significant reduction in pain from the 1st acupuncture treatment. Read the rest of this entry »
It is common to observe patients with trigger points in various muscles. Very common in clinical practice is to observe a link between trigger points in upper trapezius and esternocleydomastoideu. These two muscles are important for the movement of the head and often subject to great stress. Indeed it is quite common, people accumulate tension on the trapezius muscle.
The most interesting is to observe the formation of more complex symptom patterns. Pain mixes easily with other symptoms like nausea, dizziness or nasal congestion.
I am currently treating a patient with trigger points in these two muscles. His clinical semiological analysis is quite complex and, in a clinical perspective, very interesting. Obviously that patients never agree with this childlike enthusiasm towards the cause of their problems. Read the rest of this entry »
There are four areas of trigger points in trapezius muscle. In its upper edge are the trigger points that normally triggered painful symptoms in the head and neck.
Neck pain usually manifests itself in its outer edge in the region traversed by the meridian of the gallbladder (GB). In addition to neck pain patients may also develop muscle stiffness and difficulty moving their heads. In the head, the pain, tends to be felt behind the eye in the region of Taiyang extra acupuncture point and can more rarely be felt in the course of the meridian of the gallbladder (GB). In this link you can see a picture which shows the areas of referred pain from the 1st trigger point (TrP 1). Read the rest of this entry »
There are 3 types of trigger points. This form of classification helps us to understand the relationship between trigger points and among the symptoms they trigger. The 3 types of trigger points are: (1) active trigger points, (2) latent trigger points (3) and satellite trigger points.
The active trigger points are a continuing source of pain.
The latent trigger points triggering pain when subjected to pressure.
Finally the satellite trigger points that arise in the area of referred pain from other active trigger points.
The muscle sternocleidomastoid has 2 branches. The clavicular branch that connects to the clavicle and sternum branch that connects to the sternum. This muscle can have trigger points that trigger other symptoms such as headache.
The existence of trigger points in the clavicular branch of sternocleidomastoid can cause frontal headache and pain in the ear.
The existence of trigger points in the sternal branch may cause supra-orbital headache – which can be associated with muscle movements – headache at the vertex and occipital headache – the pain is located in the occipital and cervical regions-. These trigger points can cause pain in the ears, eyes, nose and tongue.
The points of clavicular branch can also cause loss of balance and disorientation. Other problems such as impaired hearing, vision, rhinitis, nasal congestion, etc … can also be associated with the presence of trigger points.
The points are located in a region belonging to the meridians of the stomach and large intestine. Points that are on top of muscle, are close to the Triple Heater (San Jiao) meridian/channel.
The trigger points of the temporalis muscle can trigger episodes of pain marked by geographical differences and episodes of pain in other regions less suspicious as the teeth.
They are a cause of frontal and temporal headache. In the frontal headache pain tends to be more pronounced in orbit above the eye, while in the temporal region trigger points can be confused with Ashi points.
Besides these 2 geographic regions, these trigger points can also trigger episodes of dental pain in the jaw and/or tooth hypersensitivity to temperature, pressure, etc …
Besides the dental pain there are also mentioned cases of inflammation of the gums.
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