Trigger Point Pain Patterns

Back is out but it hurts in the front

Want to skip ahead?Here’s a link to my post about getting relief on your own. People complain of a stiff and/or painful back, but it is most painful near the fold of the hip in the front. They move stiffly and tend to have other back problems. The low back has flattened, sometimes on just one side. […]

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Stiff and Slow When Rising From Seated Position

These people are stiff and slow in rising from a seat or getting out of the car. The longer that they sit, the stiffer they get. They are often stiff in the morning when rising from bed but speak of it as though everyone has it. They usually avoid being seated and immobile for long car rides,

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Superficial strip of shoulder pain when reaching up

People complain of a strip of pain in the front of the shoulder when reaching up. They often say this is “biceps tendon pain” because it feels more superficial. When I ask if there is a motion that creates pain, they lift their arm in front of them. It bothers them more as the elbow moves

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Pain when pitching or reaching behind your body

Want to skip ahead?Here’s a link to my post about getting relief on your own. People complain of pain in the front of the shoulder, back of the upper arm, forearm, and hand. The primary complaint is often in the shoulder, especially when reaching behind the back to fasten a bra, tuck in a belt, etc.

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Shoulder Pain Reaching Up and Around

Want to skip ahead?Here’s a link to my post about getting relief on your own. People usually complain of vague pain in the back of the arm that is sharper at the shoulder. This pain often occurs in passive postures where they are using the long head of the triceps to stabilize the arm. This trigger

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Mid back Pain with Stiff Low Back

People complain of pain in the mid-back. They almost always make this awkward move of reaching back to touch the lower ribs on that side. Often, they complain about a stiff lower back. They may even refer to it as low back pain as they touch the lower ribs. At times, they complain about how it

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Pain in front of shoulder when reaching out to the side

Client’s Description People complain of pain in the front of the shoulder when reaching to the side while their arm is at shoulder level. It is easy to adapt movement to avoid this unless there is a specific activity like holding the passenger seat while driving. This problem can be aggravated by carrying a backpack. The straps create

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Aching mid-back with tired triceps

People complain of an area of aching pain at the base of the shoulder blade. At times, this extends down the triceps and into the hand. They can’t reach it and may ask to trace the spot on my back or on the illustration that I have on the wall. It has a constant ache that

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Spot of pain behind shoulder

People complain of a spot of pain deep in the back of the shoulder. It often occurs after other shoulder pain, particularly after this trigger point, has been treated and released. It is a lingering pain that is hard to connect to an activity but often bothers them when I ask them to stretch the shoulder as

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Sore Shoulder from Strap or Lifting Overhead

Active people complain of pain on the top of their shoulder when lifting their arm. When I ask them to lift their arm, it doesn’t really hurt until their elbow gets level with their shoulder and the tip of the shoulder begins to rotate upward. This is the motion that strongly engages the middle trapezius. Sometimes

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