(Newer than new) evidence that squishing trigger points works

An upcoming issue of Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies will include a new study of trigger point squishing. I was lucky to get a look at a final draft, thanks to connections at The Pressure Positive Company, the massage tool manufacturer that supplied the tools.

This experiment has the simple elegance of a good science-fair project. Dr. Dawn Gulick of the Widener University Physical Therapy Department simply compared the sensitivity of trigger points both with and without a simple treatment of pressure — squishing them, that is. That’s an experiment I’ve always wanted to do myself.

In life, and in a massage therapy office, it seems obvious that sore spots in muscles often get less sore when you apply pressure to them, but this apparent phenomenon is strikingly unconfirmed by any research. And we do need it confirmed, because what seems “obvious” to the fallible human mind is often surprisingly wrong. It’s also important to study it because, even if the treatment works, it may not work for the reason that seems obvious. For instance, what if it’s not actually the pressure that’s doing the job, but simply the touch? Or even the social interaction with the patient? You need some careful testing to suss out that kind of thing.

This experiment tested a specific method of squishing: pressing a trigger point firmly and long enough to starve it of some oxygen (ischemic pressure), repeatedly, for several days. This has long been one of the preferred methods of treatment, and it is specifically recommended in my own trigger point e-book as a best-bet protocol, but I have no real idea if that’s really the best way to get rid of a trigger point.

Dr. Gulick et al. measured trigger point sensitivity before and after treatment in 28 people with two trigger points in the upper back. Their conclusion:

There was a significant difference between the pre- and post-test sensitivities of the treated and non-treated trigger points. The results of this study confirm that the protocol of six repetitions of 30-second ischemic compression with the Backnobber II rendered every other day for a week was effective in reducing trigger point irritability.

Excellent!

This is small-scale science, and hardly the last word on this subject — remember, all knowledge is provisional — but the results are encouraging and certainly consistent with my professional experience.