Treating the cause, not the symptom. The key to long lasting pain relief.

Understanding Myofascial Pain Patterns: Treating the Cause, Not Just the Symptom at Prom Coast Muscle Myotherapy

If you’ve ever experienced pain in one part of your body and wondered why it’s not going away despite treatment, you’re not alone. Whether it’s persistent shoulder pain, tightness in your lower back, or aching in your hips, it can be frustrating when conventional treatments only seem to address the symptom, not the root cause of your discomfort.

At Prom Coast Muscle Myotherapy, we take a unique approach to pain management by focusing on myofascial pain patterns—a key concept that helps us understand how pain in one area of the body may actually be generated by issues in another. Rather than just masking the pain with temporary relief, we work to identify and treat the underlying cause, leading to more lasting and effective results.

In this blog post, we’ll explore myofascial pain patterns, how they can lead to chronic pain, and how our specialized treatment approach at Prom Coast Muscle Myotherapy can help you achieve long-term relief.

What Are Myofascial Pain Patterns?

At the heart of myotherapy is the understanding of myofascial pain, which is pain caused by trigger points in the muscles and fascia (the connective tissue surrounding muscles). These trigger points are hyperirritable spots in a muscle that can develop from muscle overuse, injury, poor posture, stress, or repetitive motions. When these trigger points are active, they can cause pain that radiates or refers to other areas of the body—a phenomenon known as myofascial pain patterns.

What makes myofascial pain particularly tricky is that the pain you feel in one part of the body may not necessarily be caused by a problem in that exact location. Instead, it may be referred from another muscle or area that is compensating for dysfunction elsewhere in the body.

For example, you might feel pain in your neck or shoulders, but the true source of the problem could be tightness in your upper back, jaw (TMJ dysfunction), or even tight hamstrings. This concept of referred pain can make diagnosis and treatment more complicated, as it’s easy to assume that the location of the pain is where the problem originates.

The Importance of Treating the Cause, Not Just the Symptom

Most traditional treatments focus on relieving pain at the site of discomfort. For instance, you might get a massage or apply heat to your aching lower back, but this approach often only provides temporary relief because it doesn't address the root cause of the pain. Without understanding why the pain is happening in the first place, it’s easy for symptoms to return.

At Prom Coast Muscle Myotherapy, our goal is to look beyond the immediate symptom and identify the underlying source of your discomfort. We take the time to assess your body as a whole—examining muscle imbalances, posture, movement patterns, and the interconnectedness of different muscle groups. By identifying where the tension, weakness, or dysfunction originates, we can provide targeted treatment that focuses on correcting the root cause of your pain.

Here’s how we go about it:

• Comprehensive Assessment: We begin each session with a detailed assessment to understand your posture, movement, and any areas of pain or discomfort. We may also ask about your daily activities, work environment, and lifestyle to gain insight into potential causes of your pain.

• Trigger Point Identification: By palpating (gently pressing on) the muscles and fascia, we can identify active trigger points that are contributing to pain referral. These areas of tightness may not be the source of the pain you’re experiencing, but they’re creating tension that manifests as discomfort elsewhere in the body.

• Holistic Treatment Approach: Once we’ve identified the source of your pain, we use a variety of hands-on techniques to release the trigger points and restore proper muscle function. This might include myofascial release, muscle energy techniques, dry needling, massage, or stretching—all designed to improve blood flow, release tension, and restore proper movement.

How Pain in One Part of the Body Can Be Generated in Another

The concept of referred pain is central to understanding myofascial pain patterns. This phenomenon occurs when a trigger point in one muscle causes pain to be felt in a different, often distant area of the body. This happens because the nerves that innervate various muscles in the body are interconnected.

Here are a few common examples of myofascial pain patterns that we often treat at Prom Coast Muscle Myotherapy:

1. Neck and Shoulder Pain (Referred from the Upper Back)

Many people who experience tension in the neck and shoulders don’t realize that the problem may be rooted in the upper back. Tightness in muscles such as the rhomboids or trapezius can refer pain to the shoulders and neck. Similarly, poor posture or slouching can cause muscles in the upper back to tighten, leading to discomfort in the neck and shoulder area.

2. Lower Back Pain (Referred from the Hips or Hamstrings)

It’s common for people with chronic lower back pain to also have tightness in the hips, glutes, or hamstrings. When these muscles are tight or have active trigger points, they can create tension in the lower back, resulting in pain that seems like it’s coming from the spine itself. By treating the hip flexors, hamstrings, or glute muscles, we can often alleviate lower back pain.

3. Headaches (Referred from the Neck or Upper Back)

Headaches, especially tension headaches, are often caused by tightness in the neck and upper back muscles. Trigger points in the suboccipital muscles (the muscles at the base of the skull) or in the upper traps can refer pain to the head, leading to tension headaches. By addressing these trigger points and releasing the tension, we can significantly reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches.

4. Wrist Pain (Referred from the Forearm or Shoulders)

You might experience wrist pain from overuse, but the root cause could be in your forearm or shoulder. Trigger points in muscles like the flexor muscles of the forearm or the shoulder rotator cuff can refer pain down the arm to the wrist, making it feel as though the problem originates in the wrist itself.

Why Choose Prom Coast Muscle Myotherapy?

At Prom Coast Muscle Myotherapy, we specialize in identifying and treating the root cause of your pain, not just the symptoms. By understanding myofascial pain patterns, we can provide more effective, long-lasting relief. Our approach focuses on:

• Thorough assessment: We take the time to fully understand your pain and the factors that may be contributing to it.

• Customized treatment: Each session is tailored to your individual needs, targeting the source of your discomfort and not just the area where you feel pain.

• Holistic care: We incorporate a combination of techniques designed to improve muscle function, release tension, and restore balance in the body.

If you're tired of chasing after temporary solutions and want to find lasting relief from pain, it’s time to experience the Prom Coast Muscle Myotherapy difference. Our personalized treatments can help you not only feel better but also improve your overall movement, posture, and quality of life.

Conclusion

Myofascial pain patterns can make understanding and treating pain a complex process. At Prom Coast Muscle Myotherapy, we focus on identifying and treating the root cause of your pain, rather than just masking the symptoms. By addressing the interconnected nature of your muscles and fascia, we provide effective treatments that offer lasting relief. Whether your pain is in your neck, back, hips, or elsewhere, we’re here to help you find and treat the source.

If you're ready to take a deeper look at your pain and start a treatment plan that addresses its true cause, contact us today to schedule an appointment. Together, we’ll work towards relieving your pain and improving your body’s function for the long term.