Sharing

You were probably taught to share at some point in your life. You may have heard phrases like, "Many hands make light work." Our muscles share, too. They often work together in teams. There might be several muscles from different areas of the body, working together to perform one function. When they all work together, the job is not too hard for any one muscle. But when one muscle stops doing its part for some reason, the other muscles take up the slack. If it is a temporary situation, these other muscles might recover quickly once the emergency is over; however, if it is a long-term situation, the other muscles may also become disabled.

Understanding which muscles perform which functions, gives us helpful information when treating our trigger points. It is a good idea to check the other muscles in a group to see what shape they are in. Muscles that work together often get trigger points together.

Have you ever used window blinds that use two cords to open and close the slats? One string pulls the slats closed one way; the other cord pulls them closed the other way. Many places in our body work on the same principle. For example, in our forearms we have the flexor muscles on the under side, which "pull" our hands and fingers down, and the extensor muscles on the top side, which "pull" our hands and fingers up. With window blinds, sometimes it is necessary to put tension on both cords to set the slats to the proper angle.

The same thing occurs with the extensor and flexor muscles of the forearm. Both sets of muscles are required for many tasks. For example, gripping requires both sets of muscles. Computer work calls on both the flexors and extensors. Many of us (including me) spend long periods of time at the computer, overworking not only our arms, but our shoulder and neck muscles, too.

The relationship between other muscles may not be as obvious. When we have back trouble, it may not occur to us to check our stomach or buttocks muscles for trigger points, but when you understand that stomach muscles work with back muscles to lift us up and carry us around, and that the buttocks muscles help us maintain our balance, it makes perfect sense to check them as well.

Sometimes, a whole set of muscles becomes disabled and we use another set of muscles to accomplish the task that the disabled muscles used to do. Often, these other muscles are not able to handle the extra job, and they, too, become disabled. This can set up a scenario of one problem after another.

A few years ago, I discovered that I could use a grabber tool to pick things up off the floor without having to bend down. At that time, my back was so disabled that I had maybe one or two bends a day before I simply could not do any more. I could not sit on the floor to pick things up because it would make my back worse. I purchased my grabber tool and I went to town. I picked up everything. I got fast at it. I was so happy that I had found a way around my disability. However, it was not long until I started to have problems with my shoulders, arms, and hands. I could hardly do anything with my hands. I distinctly remember one time trying to cut out biscuits with a biscuit cutter and being in so much pain that I took a break after each biscuit. It was excruciating. I had overworked my hands, using the grabber tool to compensate for my disabled back, and in the process, I disabled another large portion of my body.

I can now bend over and pick things up again, and I save the grabber tool for getting things in hard to reach places and for picking up garbage out in the yard. I work my trigger points before and after bending activities. I work muscles in my back, gluts, legs and stomach, since they all participate in the bending. As for my shoulders, arms, and hands, I am still working on recovering them.

So, it is a good idea to know which muscles share tasks together. The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook describes the function of muscles, and has them grouped together in a logical way. The trigger point map has some drawings that help to understand the placement of muscles. You can also analyze your own movements. Place your fingers on your forearm, for example, while you flex up and down. You will get an idea of which muscles are doing what.

Knowing more about your muscles will help you to treat your pain more effectively.

Dealing with Tension/Anxiety

I could feel my tension increasing over the past few days.  I woke up with my teeth clenched (harder than usual), and I could feel my shoulders and neck getting tighter and tighter.  Because of my tension, I really didn't feel like doing much that I considered productive--I couldn't seem to focus--and so I "wasted" some time.  I responded by tensing up even more.  

When you feel tense and/or anxious, it is hard to motivate oneself to work trigger points.  (It's hard to motivate oneself to do anything.)  Even if you want to, you may not be thinking clearly, or you may feel overwhelmed and not know where to start.  You may think that it may not work anyway, etc. But, working them will help--sometimes a lot.

The number one thing to do is to start somewhere, anywhere.  There is a domino effect, and releasing the tension in one muscle will help release tension in other muscles.  Once you get the ball rolling, you will feel a noticeable lessening of tension.

I have found that if I try too hard to work my shoulder and neck muscles in the beginning, I am not always successful, maybe because I am using the muscles that I am trying to relax, and I am just too tense to make it work at that point.  However, if I work them after I have worked some other muscles, I have more success.

Today, I will give you an overview of what I might work if I am feeling tense.  Generally, I don't do this all in one go.  I might do two or three areas, take a break, and then continue later with the other areas.

First, I use the lacrosse ball against the wall to work my gluts (these are your backside muscles).  Remember not to press hard against the bone.  But, press as much as you want on the muscles.

Working the hamstrings with a lacrosse ball. 

Next, I sit on a hard chair and work my hamstrings (the muscles in back of the upper leg).  Using your body weight, move your leg over the ball, from side to side and from your knee to your sit bones.  As usual, work both legs.  If you have never done this before, you may be surprised by how many places hurt.  You may also be surprised at how loose and limber you feel after working your gluts, hamstrings and quads.   Your leg muscles are somewhat tender, so don't press too hard, but you will need to press fairly firmly in order for it to be effective.

Then, I usually work my quads (muscles in front and side of the upper leg).  The trigger points on the outer side of the leg are particularly painful.  Take it easy.  You may want to work around them at first, and gradually work up to working on them directly.  

Place lacrosse ball in the front of your thigh.  

Working the sides of your quads.  

Be sure to stay off the bones of your spine.  

I then move up to my back. Make sure to stay off of the spine.  You can work the muscles close to the spine.

If you are able to lean back far enough, you can move up to your shoulder area.

Working the serratus anterior (below the armpit).

I like to work the muscles under my armpit (the serratus anterior). Raise your arm and put the ball just below your armpit. These trigger points are extremely tender, so be careful. There are also some potent trigger points just below where the arm and back meet, on both the back and the arm.

Working the upper arm.

Work your upper arms--front, back and sides. 

Working the inside of the forearm. 

Put your hand behind your back to work the inside of the arm.  Be careful here.  These muscles can be tender.  

Working the outer forearm. 

Work the outside of the arms by leaning against the ball.

Then I use my theracane on my neck and shoulder area.

Today, I found a big trouble-maker in the back of my neck.  It is easier to work now that I have relaxed my shoulder and arm muscles enough to effectively use the theracane, and I have relaxed some of the surrounding muscles.

(Note:  Some of these first posts are adapted from emails that I sent out before I started the blog.  This was from October 12, 2011.  I am keeping track of the dates because I am always looking for patterns in my pain, including how often certain types of symptoms appear.)