Trigger Point Therapy - Treating Trapezius for Head, Neck and Shoulder Pain

Just about everyone has trapezius trigger points. In most cases they can be treated simply and effectively for relieving head, neck and shoulder pain.

Treating trigger points in the upper trapezius can have a profound effect for many painful conditions.

In addition to compression techniques, we often use the following muscle energy techniques (MET's) to target the treatment areas (taught bands/trigger points).

MET Treatment of Right Upper Trapezius

The therapist places the right upper trapezius in a position of bind, and asks the patient to either side bend the cervical spine to the right or elevate the right shoulder.

Alternatively, the patient may be requested to perform both of these actions at the same time against a resistance from the therapist.

Another way of communicating the technique is to ask the patient to bring the ear to the shoulder, or the shoulder to the ear, against a resistance, holding for 10 seconds.

After the 10-second contraction, the patient is asked to relax, take a breath in and on the relaxation phase the cervical spine is taken further into a left side bend.

If the side bending causes any discomfort, the shoulder can be taken into further depression, as this will also have the effect of lengthening the upper trapezius.

Reciprocal Inhibition (RI) Technique

If an RI technique is desired, the therapist takes complete control of the patient’s cervical spine and shoulder as described above.

From this position the patient is asked to reach slowly towards their lower right leg with their right hand, until a point of bind is felt.

This approach will activate the lower trapezius as the patient is causing a depression of the right shoulder girdle.

This will induce an inhibition of the right upper trapezius, allowing a safe way of lengthening as it will override the activation of the muscle spindles.

Trapezius - Common Trigger Point Sites

Targeting Specific Fibers