Trigger Points and Shoulder Pain

Trigger Points and Shoulder Pain

Shoulder Pain

There are a number of manual therapy techniques we use here at Elite Physical Therapy and Sports Performance, including Graston Technique and Trigger Point Dry Needling, to address muscular pain.  What many people don’t realize is that taut bands of hyperirritable muscle (a.k.a. trigger points) can cause local and referred pain.

This article is one I wrote for SportsRehabExpert.com awhile back showing how trigger points in the back of the shoulder, specifically the muscles of the posterior rotator cuff, can refer pain to the front of the shoulder and down the arm.

If you have shoulder pain that has not responded to other types of treatment, then check out this article and please contact us with any questions you may have!

Manual Therapy Technique of the Week – Treating the Infraspinatous and Teres Minor 

Joe Heiler PT

I’ve become much more familiar with trigger point referral patterns and treating these out the past couple years since taking the Kinetacore Functional Dry Needling course.  A couple of the more common trigger points I end up dry needling and/or using Graston Technique to treat in the shoulder are the infraspinatous and teres minor.  Active trigger points in these muscles can refer pain to the anterior and middle shoulder, and on occasion will also refer pain down the arm.

Check out the typical trigger points and referral patterns below:

Infraspinatous Trigger Points and Pain Referral Pattern
Teres Minor Trigger Point and Pain Referral Pattern

Case Study

Current patient of mine presented with R shoulder and scapular pain of 2 year duration.  MS rotation limited to 50% bilaterally (DP) and R shoulder medial rotation extension (MRE) reach only to L4 (DP).  Palpation of the infraspinatous trigger point (most superior and lateral) referred significant pain to the anterior shoulder and slightly down the lateral arm reproducing her typical pain.  The teres minor trigger point referred pain to the middle deltoid area.

Post trigger point dry needling of these trigger points the patient’s MS rotation improved to 90% (dysfunctional still but non-painful) and R shoulder MRE to T9 (still DP but much less pain).

It’s not always this dramatic but this is also not the first time I’ve seen the great results like this.

I’ll get a video up soon showing how we use Graston Technique to treat the posterior shoulder to reduce this type of pain and improve shoulder function.

In the meantime feel free to contact us with any questions:  231 421-5805 or Joe@elitepttc.com