Questioni am now a 38 year old male of good health except i have all kinds of problems or possibly pain causing areas of the back. i have read one of the medical classics trigger point manual travel and simmons. also i have read alot on posture and anatomy and function. i have observed several muscles of my back and hip that are short and tight and other the antagonist that is long weak and inhibited.
i am trying to stetch the tight muslces while also strenghtening the long weak muscles. but i am not exactly sure of the best techniques. it feels strange when i try to streghten my left gluteus medius inhibited muscle. any suggestions here? also what comes first (chicken or the egg) the long inhibted muscle or its antagonist short tight muscle?
also i have asked some doctors and they told me that it is impossible to remove latent triger points. i can find a very serious one of my rigth QL or illiucostas muslce around L2 that refers incredible amounts of pain too just above the crest of the illium.
thanking you in advance.
AnswerHi, Jii.
In my experience, both practical and schooling, I have never had a client with the symptoms you describe not be able to have a knowledgable therapist relieve those trigger points in the QLs, lower lumbars, gluteals, iliopsoas and so on. Many of my clients have been gentlement of around your age with the same type of problem. The only reasons that I know of that your physician might tell you that those trigger points can't be released would be either the physician is unfamiliar with trigger points or there has been a misunderstanding between the two of you as to what the cause is.
As for the chicken or the egg--who knows? Unless you have a specific injury that you know made one side weak or some such thing, it could be just about anything. I am surprised and delighted at your perusal of Travell, it's a great reference, as well as your attempts to decide where the problem lies via posture, etc analysis. It doesn't sound like the trigger points in your QLs and so on are latent, they are very much active at this point. But that is no matter. The QL indeed does refer a lot of pain when touched as well as when left alone, once it gets to a certain point. It has been my experience that if the QL is that painful then the gluteals and so on on the opposite side will need to be worked in order for there to be lasting relief. Try seeing a neuromuscular therapist (NMT), and/or someone who practices myofascial release. You can find therapists in your area via several sites--the AMTA: www.amtamassage.org and the ABMP's site--which I can never remember, but it comes up easily on searh engines. Ask how much schooling they have had with those methods, or if they are telling you that another method would be better, ask them to articulate why it would be.
At any rate, it sounds like you are on the right track. I wish you much luck and good health in the future. If there are questions you still have, I look forward to hearing from you, again. Take care.
Abby
