Taut band is the rope-like strand of tight fibers in which a 📝trigger point sits.
Under the fingers it feels like a cord inside the muscle, distinct from the surrounding belly. 📝Trigger Point Therapy looks for that cord first, then for the nodule on it that refers. The band is a felt finding, not a diagnosis of a tear, a spasm as a medical event, or a contracture that must be broken. It often shortens the muscle's 📝available range even when the point is quiet.
Clients feel it as a line that will not let go. Work holds the point on the band, then lengthens the muscle so the cord does not re-form in the next hour. Stretching the whole muscle without finding the band is usually the weaker lever.
Sharp or shooting pain is a stop.