The Author Explains Trigger Point Therapy

Interview with Valerie DeLaune, L.Ac., author of Trigger Point Therapy for Headaches and Migraines

What are trigger points?

"Trigger points" are areas of cells in the muscle where blood flow has been reduced and cellular metabolic wastes aren’t being exchanged for oxygen and nutrients. If enough trigger points are located together, these form "knots" that you can feel when they are being pressed.

How does targeting trigger points successfully treat pain?

Very often, trigger points aren’t located in the area where you’re actually feeling symptoms, so it doesn’t necessarily help to work only in the area where you feel pain. This is called “referred pain,” and it is the most important thing to know about trigger points. My books tell you which muscles to check for trigger points based on where you feel your pain.

Can you give an example of treating trigger points remote to the area of pain?

A common area of pain is the temple area, as many people get headaches. The trapezius muscle in the mid-back area is most likely to cause pain here. Other possible muscles would be in the front or back of the neck. The temporalis muscle is the only muscle that can cause temple pain that is in the same area as the temple. To treat yourself with trigger point therapy, you must know which muscles might be causing pain in a particular area.

Do trigger points cause symptoms other than pain?

Yes. A good example would be the sternocleidomastoid on the front of the neck, which can be involved in headaches. It can also cause dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, sinus congestion, ear problems, a cough, eyelid twitching, and several other non-painful symptoms. My books list all the common symptoms to help you figure out which muscles are involved.

What causes trigger points?

Common triggers for headache-related trigger points are stresses to the muscles, for example, having poor posture at work or sleeping on mattress that needs to be replaced. Trigger points can also be caused by injuries, overuse of muscles, nutritional problems, endocrine system imbalances such as hypothyroidism, and some diseases and infections. Stress can play a big role. For some people, simply changing their diet or drinking more water can really help relieve headache pain.  If your practitioner isn’t helping you figure out your perpetuating factors and how to address them, your pain and other symptoms will keep coming back, and they are missing a big piece to treating trigger points. I devoted about one third of both of my books to explaining what keeps trigger points activated even after treatment and how to figure out and eliminate those perpetuating factors. 

Won’t trigger points go away on their own?

A lot of people wait to get treatment when they get injured, thinking the pain will go away. If your pain hasn’t gone away within a week or two, you need to do something. It may go away for awhile, but permanent damage to the muscle tissue has likely already taken place, and the pain will come back. The longer you wait, the more muscles become involved, and treatment becomes more complex and takes longer. Eventually, the central nervous system gets involved, and the pain becomes chronic.

What’s the difference between headaches and migraines?

Migraines are actually a type of headache, but because most people distinguish them as two different things, I do the same thing to avoid confusion. There are several types of headaches, including tension headaches, migraines, and cluster headaches. Migraines are usually more severe and are often accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, and auras. On my website, triggerpointrelief.com, I have a table that breaks headaches into type by symptom and lists the things that commonly trigger each type of headache.

How do trigger points cause headaches and migraines?

Trigger points can be a huge contributor to causing headaches. On my website, triggerpointrelief.com, I have a chart that tells you how high the likelihood is that trigger points are a factor in causing your headaches depending on the type of headache, and also which perpetuating factors are most likely to be keeping your trigger points activated.

How long does it take to get relief?

That depends on how long the problem has gone on and how many perpetuating factors are involved. Once you start self-care or treatment with a practitioner, you will likely start to get at least some relief immediately. If you have trigger points in several muscles and a lot of perpetuating factors that need to be identified and addressed, you will keep making progress over time, probably with some setbacks. Those setbacks help you identify perpetuating factors you hadn’t figured out yet.

How long have you been treating trigger points?

I completed my Swedish massage training in 1989 and my first trigger point training in 1990.  After that, I used texts to learn a great deal more about trigger points. 

How long have you lived in Alaska and what are your favorite things to do there?

I’ve been here since 1982. It’s an incredibly beautiful place, but it’s definitely not for everyone. You have to be willing to move at a slower pace and have patience for weather delays. I frequently have bears on my front porch.  I’m a big hiker and downhill skier.  I also like to kayak, snowshoe, fish, and ice skate.

Where can people find you online?

My website is triggerpointrelief.com.