Trigger Point Therapy

Following the recommendations of some folks over at ST I decided to give "The Pain-Free Triathlete" a try. I ordered it online last week at http://www.julstro.com/order.html.

The book arrived this Saturday and by Sunday evening I had already gone through the book and started poking and prodding "trigger points" all over my body. I sure did find a lot. I didn't realize that my muscles were so contracted at so many parts of my leg. I'd be kneading my calves and it would hurt soooooooo good. There would be moments where I'd scream in pain as I found a particularly spasmic muscle.

I was particularly impressed about this one excerpt about lower back pain. Apparently it's caused by the Iliopsoas muscle located deep in your abdomen. So in order to alleviate it, you'd have to press in your side, about 2-3 inches from your navel. Unfortunately, I'm quite ticklish and whoever said that you can't tickle yourself apparently didn't know what they were talking about. Releasing the tension in the Iliospsoas through fits of laughter and pain has to be considered one of the more interesting experiences I've had as a wannabe-triathlete thus far.

But back to why I was so impressed. The book mentioned that people who suffered from this lower back pain tended to have really tight outer quads as well (due to certain biomechanical connections of the two muscle groups which are too complex to explain here). Lo and behold, when I tried to feel for the insertion point of my quads, I found it as hard as steel cables. Trying to relieve that muscle has been one hell of a trip into the world of sadomasochism.