What is Trigger Point Therapy?
Predictable pain patterns give clues as to where the origin of the discomfort really is.
Hyper-irritable muscles make pain referral patterns. A client’s description of the pain can be a clue as to where the work needs to happen.
Trigger Point Therapy grew out of the clinical research of Janet G. Travell, a physician who studied muscular pain patterns in the mid-20th century. She mapped how specific irritated spots in muscle tissue could refer pain to entirely different areas of the body.
Her research fundamentally changed how chronic pain was understood — showing that many headaches, back problems, and joint complaints were not always joint injuries or nerve damage, but often originated from dysfunctional muscle tissue. Their work became the foundation for modern Trigger Point Therapy and remains widely used in medical, rehabilitation, and manual therapy settings today.
What Is Trigger Point Therapy?
Trigger Point Therapy is a focused form of bodywork that targets small, hyper-irritable areas within muscle tissue commonly called “knots.” These trigger points develop when muscle fibers remain contracted due to overuse, injury, stress, or repetitive movement.
By applying sustained, precise pressure, the therapist helps the muscle reset its resting tone, improving circulation, reducing referred pain, and restoring normal movement.
Rather than treating only where pain is felt, Trigger Point Therapy looks for the source of dysfunction — often relieving symptoms in distant areas such as headaches from neck muscles or low back pain caused by tight hips.