How to Find a Trigger Point

Finding a Trigger Point

With the muscle relaxed you can locate a trigger point by probing the tissue with your fingers, or a FENIX digit, until you find a spot that under firm pressure evokes or exacerbates the symptoms you have. You know you are on a treatment point when moderate pressure creates local tenderness with referral sensations to other parts of your body or extremities, sensations such as tingling, aching, sharp pain, and/or numbness. The decrease of this discomfort with therapeutic pressure will also signal that you are correctly on a treatment point. At this point you will apply the FENIX digit or digits and treat the myofascial trigger point as described in the Self Treatment Program.

Pain-Causing Trigger Point (TP) Areas
Using your fingers, or a FENIX digit, probe along the lines indicated in the pictures and described in the text correlating to your problem area to find the trigger points causing you pain. You can move to the right or left and up or down along or off each of these lines to find your exact pain-causing trigger points.

(See examples below)

Lower Body Pain-Causing TPs

Hip/Leg Pain - follow diagonal line A from the bony bump in back of your pelvis (left hand pointing) to the bony bump in front of your pelvis (right hand pointing). Starting at the front right hand, check the iliopsoas, tensor fasciae latae to the gluteus medius and maximus, piriformis (below middle of line A) and lumbosacral muscles by the left hand for TPs. See the Trigger Point pain drawings below and the treatment pictures in the Self Training Program for specific muscle locations.

Low back pain - check the muscles listed above in hip/leg pain for TPs. Then check line B top to bottom next to bony spinous bumps of low back for TPs (paraspinal muscles), never apply the digits directly on these boney bumps. Try the paired two-digit paraspinal technique, or the four-digit spinal traction technique for relief. Also check the diagonal line C from the mid-low back across towards top of pelvis (quadratus lumborum muscle TPs.)

See the Trigger Point pain drawings below and the treatment pictures in the Self Training Program for specific muscle locations.

Upper body pain-causing TPs

Mid-back pain - check line D next to bony spinous bumps of mid-back for TPs (paraspinal muscles). Try the paired two-digit paraspinal technique or the four-digit spinal traction technique for relief. Also check line E along the inside border of your shoulder blade (rhomboid and mid-trapezius muscle TPs). See the Trigger Point pain drawings below and the treatment pictures in the Self Training Program for specific muscle locations.

Shoulder-arm pain - check muscles listed above in mid-back pain for TPs. Then follow diagonal line F from inside border of shoulder blade across to front top tip of shoulder to check for TPs in infraspinatus, terres muscles, posterior and anterior deltoids. Also follow line G, top of shoulder, to check TPs in supraspinatus and upper trapezius muscles.

See the Trigger Point pain drawings below and the treatment pictures in the Self Training Program for specific muscle locations.

Neck pain and headaches - check muscles listed above in mid-back pain and shoulder pain lines D, E, F, and G. Then follow diagonal line G up the neck to H (upper trapezius and levator scapulae). Also check line H next to bony spinous bumps of the neck for TPs (cervical paraspinal muscles) to muscles under the skull bone.

See the Trigger Point pain drawings below and the treatment pictures in the Self Training Program for specific muscle locations.

Some Trigger Points & Their Pain Patterns: