All memos tagged #trigger-point-lexicon

Self-release tool is a lacrosse ball, peanut, or pressure cane used to hold pressure on a point at home. In Trigger Point Therapy the table hold is the lesson; the tool is how the person repeats it....

Travell and Simons are the physicians — Janet Travell and David Simons — whose referral maps underlie modern trigger point work. Their texts described taut bands, nodules that refer, and the...

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...

Referral pattern is the characteristic map of where a point sends sensation, often far from the point itself. A knot in the hip may light up the calf; a knot in the neck may light up the temple. In...

Breathe into it is the cue to exhale slowly while pressure is held, so the muscle can let go instead of guarding. In Trigger Point Therapy the hold only works if the person stays with it. A held...

Perpetuating factor is a habit, posture, or load that keeps re-forming the same point, such as a phone held to one shoulder. In Trigger Point Therapy a quieted point that returns in a week is usually...

Active trigger point is a point that aches on its own and reproduces a familiar discomfort when pressed. The person already knows the ache; the fingers confirm it by bringing the same sensation back,...

Stretch after release is lengthening the muscle right after a point quiets so the taut band does not re-form. In Trigger Point Therapy the hold is only half the pass. Once the nodule has eased, the...

Jump sign is the involuntary flinch or pull-away when a tender point is pressed. The person startles, grimaces, or moves the limb before they have decided to. In Trigger Point Therapy that response...

Ischemic compression is sustained pressure held on a point until the tenderness eases, named for briefly reducing local blood flow. In Trigger Point Therapy the thumbs, elbow, or a tool settle on the...

Tolerance is the pressure that is intense but still breathable, usually about a 6 or 7 out of 10, above which the body guards. In Trigger Point Therapy that number is a shared language, not a medical...

Local twitch response is a quick flicker of the taut band when the point is pressed or flicked. The cord jumps under the fingers for a moment. In Trigger Point Therapy that flicker is a useful...

Satellite trigger point is a point that develops inside the referral zone of another point. The first knot sends sensation into a region; over time that region grows its own taut band and nodule. In...

Pressure release is graded, gentler pressure held on a point until it softens, a lighter form of ischemic compression. The hands meet the nodule, wait, and add only what the tissue will take. In...

Central trigger point is a point in the belly of a muscle, near where its nerve enters. Trigger Point Therapy often finds the first knot here, on the taut band, rather than at the attachment. The...

Tender point is a spot that hurts when pressed but does not refer sensation elsewhere, which distinguishes it from a trigger point. The fingers find a sore place; the sensation stays under the...

Latent trigger point is a point that is quiet until pressed but still shortens the muscle and limits range. The person is not aching at rest; the fingers find a taut band and a nodule that hurts...

Key trigger point is a point whose release also quiets satellite points elsewhere. In Trigger Point Therapy the practitioner looks for the point that, when it eases, takes other knots with it — often...

Nodule is the small, pea-like knot felt inside a taut band. It is the spot the fingers settle on when they have found the cord. In Trigger Point Therapy that knot is where pressure is held. The word...

The Trigger Point Therapy Glossary collects the terms used when Trigger Point Therapy appears in a Somatic Realignment Therapy session note or home-care plan, defined in plain language for clients....