Trigger Point Therapy - Treating Pectoralis Major
Pectoralis Major - Trigger Point Overview
Active Trigger Points in Pectoralis Major are Common - and Relatively Simple to Treat
Trigger points in pectoralis major are common and may be associated with a number of painful disorders including mid-scapular back pain, breast pain and hypersensitivity, thoracic outlet syndrome, anterior shoulder pain, golfer’s and tennis elbow, chest pain, chronic fatigue, and hyperventilation syndrome.
Pectoralis Major - Common Trigger Point Pain Maps
Pec major trigger points are typically posture related but may also be caused by heavy lifting, chilling of muscle in air conditioning, immobilization of shoulder or arm in cast or sling, anxiety and poor breathing, sports overload (e.g. weight training, rowing, boxing, push-ups).
Trigger Points in the Pec Major are common and usually "Posture-Related"
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Trigger Point Therapy
Trigger point therapy can be extremely effective. These trigger points are easy to access and generally quite straightforward to identify.
Stretching is almost always an important part of the treatment process, and muscle energy techniques (MET's) are particularly useful.
Function
Adducts and medially rotates humerus.
Clavicular portion: flexes and medially rotates shoulder joint, and horizontally adducts humerus toward opposite shoulder. Sternocostal portion: obliquely adducts humerus toward opposite hip.
Pectoralis major is one of the main climbing muscles, pulling the body up to the fixed arm.
Differential Diagnosis
C5–C6 radiculopathy. Biceps tendonitis. Rotator cuff muscle lesions. Intrathoracic pathology. Esophageal pathology. Tietze’s syndrome. Ischemic heart disease (angina). Thoracic outlet syndrome.
Trigger Point Self Help
Patients will often require advice on posture. There are many good stretching exercises for the pec major, and the accessibility of the trigger points make them a good candidate for self-help tools (hard balls, etc).
There are a number of simple stretching exercises for the pecs, but patients must follow correct procedure and safe rules of stretching
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More Articles About Shoulder Pain
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NAMTPT AWARD
We are honored to have received the "Excellence in Education" Award from the National Association of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapists.
Since 1999 Niel Asher Education has won numerous awards for education and in particular for education and services provided in the field of trigger point therapy.
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Niel Asher Healthcare course instructors have won a host of prestigious awards including 2 lifetime achievement honorees - Stuart Hinds, Lifetime Achievement Honoree, AAMT, 2015, Education Award NAMTPT 2019, Paul Townley, Elsevier Education Award 2013, and Dr. Jonathan Kuttner, MD, Lifetime Achievement Honoree, NAMTPT, 2014.
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Since 1999 the Niel Asher Technique for treating trigger points has been adopted by over 100,000 therapists worldwide, and has been applied to the treatment of a number of common musculoskeletal injuries.
The Niel Asher Technique for treating frozen shoulder was first introduced and published in 1997 and has been widely adopted by therapists and exercise professionals working within elite sports and athletics.
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