OVERVIEW

Trigger Point Assessment (and Palpation) is organized by Brookbush Institute.

Course Description:
In this course, we cover a topic that has only recently become controversial. Trigger point therapy has a relatively long history in medicine, including publications referencing Trigger point injection for muscle pain in the early 1900s. Additional papers referencing the treatment of pain by addressing a Trigger point, muscle knot, muscle spasm, or pressure point, start to increase in number in the 1960s. Travell and Simons published the 1st edition of their classic 2 volume set, "Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction", in the early 1990s, including definitions of the terms Trigger point, latent trigger point, active Trigger point (painful Trigger point), Trigger point pain, and a detailed description of how trigger points may develop in muscle fibers and how they may affect normal movement. In the 1990s and early 2000s, EMG research correlated trigger points with an increase in muscle activity and muscle spasm. In the early 2000s, microdialysis was introduced, providing a more detailed account of the chemical environment of trigger points. Finally, more recent advances in imaging technology have provided the first images of active trigger points within a contracting muscle.

Behavioral Objectives
• Students will be prepared to pass a final exam by choosing from a list of potential answers to behavior-objective matched multiple-choice questions.
• Demonstrate the 4 step assessment protocol, as it was modified from the Travell and Simons Protocol (based on all available research)
• Identify 10 muscles that have been included in studies that demonstrate trigger point assessment is reliable
• Compare the Travell and Simons Protocol and the "new" recommended protocol, and state 3 changes that were made based on current research
• Restate the findings from at least 3 studies they found particularly interesting in regard to trigger point assessment and evaluation
• Deduce/synthesize a hypothesis regarding the effect this technique will have on outcome measures and the appropriate test for re-assessment.
• Design an intervention plan including these techniques with the intent of affecting an objectively measured functional outcome.
• Describe the functional benefits (including impact on performance, occupation or daily tasks) that may be expected from implementing the intervention plan.