How do trigger points cause pain and other problems?
• Trigger points cause pain, restricted range of motion, and/or weakness in the involved muscle. The muscle cannot fully expand/stretch or contract and thus inhibits other muscles. The constant tension strains other muscles and joints with occasional misalignment. • There may be nerve or blood vessel entrapment by the swollen, contracted muscle. A classic example is sciatic nerve compression by the pyriformis muscle. • The autonomic nervous system can also be affected and cause peculiar symptoms. Proprioreceptors are present in muscles and may be affected. An example is dizziness and vertigo caused by trigger points in the sternocleidomastoid muscle. Two lists of unusual trigger point symptoms are listed here with their corresponding links.
