For more information on myofascial pain, especially related to migraine and chronic headache, see the following
references.
Migraine Brains and Bodies: A Comprehensive Guide
to Solving the Mystery of Your Migraines by C. M. Shifflett.
More pictures and more information (see Head and Neck Pain
on the the neuromuscular issues that may lurk behind a diagnosis of migraine. This is not a book about bigger and better drugs.
It is about finding and eliminating root causes. See excerpts here concerning:
Conquering Concussion: Healing TBI Symptoms With Neurofeedback
and Without Drugs by Mary Lee Esty and C. M. Shifflett.
The title says "concussion" but we think of this
as "Migraine: Book 2." Migraine and chronic intractable headache is an extremely common result of head injury and concussion.
Emphasis is on results, what actually happens in concussion, the myriad and often unrecognized symptoms that develop, and best of all,
how to heal the symptoms and return to a functional life.
Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual
originally by Janet G. Travell, M. D. and David G. Simons.
Since the deaths of both original authors, it is now known as
Travell & Simons' Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction, by Simons, Travell, and Lois Simons.
This two-volume work
is considered to be the Bible of muscular pain. The physician or therapist who doesn't have a well-marked, dog-eared copy with lots of yellow stickies,
paper clips, stars, arrows, underlinings and highlighting,
probably doesn't know muscular pain. (Pharmaceutical brochures are no
substitute and muscle relaxants do not relax trigger points.) These
are medical textbooks and although the prose is densely medical, the summaries and pictures alone are worth the price of admission.
Volume 1 addresses the upper body, and Volume 2 the lower body.
Fibromyalgia
and Chronic Myofascial Pain by Devin Starlanyl, M. D.
Physicians have long dismissed fibromyalgia as a mere women's disease
("and these women are CRAZY!") That is starting to change, in part
due to the development of far too many tests that reveal clear
clinical abnormalities behind the pain, and in large part due to
Starlanyl who is a doctor herself -- and suffered from severe
fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is still commonly confused with
myofascial pain syndromes. (Nearly every long-time beautician I have
checked has upper back and neck pain with severe trigger points in
her trapezius -- and a diagnosis of fibromyalgia). You can also
suffer myofascial syndromes with the beginnings of fibro, or have
fibro with myofascial syndromes and trigger points. To clarify the
difference, Starlanyl's book includes the superb trigger point and
pain referral diagrams from
Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual.
The
Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies.
Davies was a
piano tuner nearly incapacitated by shoulder pain. Ultimately,
Travell & Simons' myofascial techniques were the only thing that
helped and what ultimately resolved the problem.
(I was a pianist and field
geologist nearly incapacitated by migraines -- in part, I suspect,
due to neck trauma from the poorly fitting backpacks and equipment
of 30 years ago, designed for Tall People only.
Hot tip: NEVER wear a pack that forces your neck into a head-forward position!)
At
any rate, Davies wrote the book I wish I had written back when I first
studied myotherapy, hoping to relieve my pain, many years ago.
The material is solidly based on Travell & Simons, but
emphasizes self-(rather than clinical) treatment techniques. If you
lack medical background, use the Davies book with its clear
non-technical English in conjunction with Travell & Simons for
its terrific illustrations.
Range-of-Motion
Charts allow you to test the length of individual muscles. These
are the patient examination tests shown in
Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction.
Each test includes a list of
muscles most likely to cause restriction. ROM testing is ignored by many therapists racing to press or inject trigger points,
but these tests were the critical starting point of Travell's protocol. They identify the correct muscle behind the pain
and keep the therapist safe from wasting time working on painful areas far from the actual source of the pain.
Muscles are also keyed to the fascial lines of the superb
Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual & Movement Therapists by Tom Myers.