This latest blog post was first featured in the February edition of the Winning Athlete Magazine, a magazine dedicated to creating better athletes. The article is a must read for anyone battling with injuries or tightness. We talk about what causes the tightness and how to get rid of it yourself.
“If you want to be the best, then you’re going to have to outwork your competitors. With higher workloads and increased training demands, the modern day athlete needs to utilize everything available to keep themselves on the track. This is why many are turning to myofascial release. In a recent interview Dr. Peter Brukner, the acclaimed author of Clinical Sports Medicine, commented that treating trigger points was the best trick in his toolbox. This from a man who has literally explored every relevant Sports Medicine research paper available. So what is trigger point massage and more importantly, why do you need to add it to your toolbox? We check in with Chris Neason from Better Exercise Physiology to bring us up to speed.”
What are Trigger Points?
Trigger points are often referred to as ‘knots’. They exist in the muscle tissue as a feeling of tightness. They’re incredibly common after an injury, however sometimes they are just the result of repetitive strain and overtraining. These taut bands of muscle can lead to local pain and hyperirritability; however quite often they’ll go unnoticed. It’s only when palpated that the true pain and discomfort is uncovered. However the problem with trigger points goes much deeper than the pain they create. The main issue with trigger points is that they cause inhibition and reduced range of motion within a muscle. And what’s worse is that these deficits often continue to persist long after an injury has healed. The key
takeaway: unless you treat the root of the problem you may never regain full athletic potential.
For example, if you’ve had a significant hamstring tear in the past you can guarantee you that unless you’ve had a proper course of myofascial treatment that you’ll have some residual trigger point issues. And whilst massage or physio can treat these problems, a much cheaper and often more effective approach is to do myofascial release yourself. It’s like having your own personal masseuse 24/7. Myofascial release works by releasing the painful trigger points within muscle, tendons or fascia. By applying significant pressure to the trigger point we see increased blood flow and tissue oxygenation along How To Improve Strength, Power and Mobility Through Trigger Point Massage with a decrease in local inhibition. The result: improved strength, increased power and ultimately, superior performance.
3 reasons why myofascial release trumps stretching
1. Stretching only lengthens the muscle fibres that are already loose whilst the tight trigger points remain unchanged. This compromises the integrity of the entire muscle by creating weak points. In contrast, myofascial release targets the actual cause of tightness and releases the trigger point.
2. As you stretch you increase flexibility, but at the same time decrease joint stability. On the other hand, myofascial release increases mobility while at the same time also increasing stability by improving muscle activation.
3. Stretching before competing decreases subsequent force output through inhibition and decreased cross-bridging of fibres. Precompetition myofascial release however leads to increased muscle activation and greater force output.
How to do Myofascial Release on Trigger Points
For myofascial release there are two essential pieces of equipment; a foam roller and a massage ball. Foam rollers are mostly the same and any good one will do. However when it comes to choosing a good massage ball there are a few things you should consider: the muscle you’re targeting, your size and weight and how painful the trigger points are. The basic rules are that the bigger you are the firmer the ball should be. Smaller muscles require smaller balls and with painful trigger points start with a softer ball and go harder as they release.
So how would you know if trigger points are holding you back and limiting your athletic potential? The simplest method is to prod around and see what you come up with. A good place to start would be to watch the accompanying video where we’ll go through the 5 most common test points . You’ll know when you’ve hit a trigger point as there’ll be significant pain at the site, particularly when compared to the opposite side.
5 Top Test Points for Myofascial Release
1. Glutes
2. Illiotibial band (ITB)
3. Hamstrings
4. Upper traps
5. Pecs
Once you’ve found your trigger points, spend about 2 minutes on each one. Roll side to side and take as much pressure as you can handle. Complete this every day and I guarantee you will feel stronger and more flexible in just a week. Take this tool to effectively treat the cause of your problem and release your true athletic potential.
– Chris