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Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Ross Hauser,
M.D.
DESCRIPTION:
Myofascial pain syndrome and
fibromyalgia are often compared and confused. Myofascial pain syndrome is a common, painful muscle disorder caused by taut
bands or “trigger points” in the muscles. These trigger points are tender areas
in muscles causing local and referred muscle pain. They can create a “jump sign”
or twitch response, which means an involuntary shortening of the band of muscle.
How does myofascial pain syndrome develop?
A common cause of pain, as in myofascial pain syndrome, as well as many other
clinical syndromes, is rooted in muscle spasm. Muscles commonly contract to
stabilize a joint when a
ligament is lax or weakened. As a result, muscle spasm
may cause ischemia, which is a decreased flow of blood and poor oxygen to
tissues. This can stimulate pain receptors that are sensitive to chemicals. The
blood vessels are compressed and blood flow is decreased with a muscle spasm,
accompanied by a concurrent increase in the rate of metabolism in the muscle
tissue. Trigger points can be caused by a number of factors, including sudden
trauma, fatigue, repetitive motions and over-activity,
nutritional deficiencies
and nervous tension or stress. The most common cause, however, is chronic
ligament laxity.
What are the symptoms of myofascial pain syndrome?
Trigger points are usually classified as active or latent. Active triggers are
constantly painful while latent ones are “silent” until examined. A local twitch
response is created by both forms when examined medically and usually brings a
loss of range of motion, weakness and decreased flexibility of the muscle to
actively and passively stretch. Sometimes trigger points can set off secondary
trigger points due to the increased stress on the affected groups of muscle.
Typical Medicine
Since myofascial pain syndrome is caused by taut bands or trigger points in the
muscles, treatments have included traditional
physical therapy
such as
massage,
ultrasound and
stretching. Although these treatments provide relief, the results
often diminish on the patient's way home. The problem is that these efforts do
nothing to strengthen the weakened ligaments and, thus, do not alleviate the
chronic pain that people with this condition experience. Another standard practice of modern medicine is to give various kinds
of injections in the affected areas. Again, although the patient receives pain
relief, it returns all too soon. And some of these treatments may, in the long
run, do more damage than good. For example,
cortisone shots and
anti-inflammatory
medications have been shown to produce short-term pain benefit, but
both result in long-term loss of function and even more
chronic pain by actually
inhibiting the healing process of
soft tissue and accelerating
cartilage
degeneration. Plus, long-term use of these drugs can lead to other sources of
chronic pain, allergies and leaky gut syndrome.
The Natural Medicine Approach to Myofascial Pain Syndrome
In our opinion, a better way to treat myofascial pain syndrome is to trigger the growth of new
ligament tissue with
Prolotherapy. The strengthened ligament holds the joint in
place, the muscle relaxes and the trigger point, as well as the pain, subsides.
Prolotherapy is the safest and most effective natural medicine treatment for
repairing
tendon, ligament and cartilage damage. In simple terms, Prolotherapy
stimulates the body to repair painful areas. It does so by inducing a mild
inflammatory reaction in the weakened ligaments. Since the body heals by
inflammation, Prolotherapy stimulates healing.
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