Myofascial Pain: How to Treat Pain Caused by Fascia?
Did you know that chronic muscle pain in various parts of the body can turn into a serious disease if left untreated? Many people have noticed that sometimes the pain is so severe that they can’t do anything, or the range of motion of the joints is reduced. Sometimes they can be felt as hard lumps, but when left untreated, they become symptomless, which causes concern. This article will introduce you to ‘myofascial fascia’ to clear up any doubts.
What is myofascial fascia?
The word ‘fascia’ is a Thai word that the author thinks comes from the word Fibrous. Which means tough and inelastic fibers. It is often found in scar tissue that is tense and hard. Therefore, hearing the word muscle fascia is more worrying. Many times when we have muscle pain and have muscles that are so tight that we can feel a hard lump, this lump.
When we go to receive muscle relaxation services with various methods. The service providers will mention this knot in different ways. Such as muscle knot, biceps knot, and fascia. In medical terms, the point of these muscle knots is the เล่น UFABET ผ่านมือถือ สะดวกทุกที่ ทุกเวลา Taut Band. Which is caused by the tight contraction of muscle fibers until we can feel a knot with a clear border. And this knot is one of the causes of tightness and pain.
We can detect Taut Band in a group of diseases called ‘Myofascial Pain’ or ‘Myofascial Pain Syndrome’. If translated literally, it can be separated into the word Myo which means muscle. Fascia means muscle sheath which will have the characteristics of inelastic fibers similar to fascia tissue (Fascia is responsible for covering muscles to have a clear shape and edges separating them from other muscles) and Pain Syndrome means pain syndrome. Therefore, the word Myofascial Pain Syndrome has a direct meaning of ‘myofascial pain syndrome’ or ‘myofascial pain syndrome’. Therefore, it is found that Taut Band is just a muscle and muscle sheath. That is tightened until it can be felt as a lump. Not a lump of muscle that has actually turned into fascia tissue.
What causes myofascial pain syndrome?
The exact cause of myofascial pain syndrome is unknown, but it is likely related to several factors, including:
- Muscle Imbalance
Caused by improper lifestyle behaviors such as sitting at an angle, sitting in the wrong position, a bed that is too soft or too hard, causing an abnormal sleeping position without adjusting it back to the correct posture, sitting, standing, walking for a long time, using the same set of muscles to work while some sets of muscles do not work at all, etc. All of these causes can cause muscle imbalance. Common examples include office syndrome patients, female employees who have to wear high heels all the time, runners who only run without ever exercising other sets of muscles in other activities.
- Muscle overuse causes muscles to stretch and contract too much that they cannot fully relax, resulting in a build-up of tension over a long period of time.
- Muscle or Tendon Injury causes the muscle to contract and, once the injury has healed, the muscle does not relax back to its original position.
- Muscle cramps cause muscles to tense up, either from an imbalance of calcium in the body or from moving the muscles too quickly. When the cramps are released, they often leave behind a Taut Band, which can cause chronic tension and pain.
- Other causes include an imbalance of neurotransmitters that control pain, which is often associated with lack of sleep, stress, etc.
- Unknown cause
Symptoms of myofascial pain syndrome
Patients with Myofascial Pain Syndrome will have a variety of symptoms, which can be described differently from person to person, but they are usually described as a group of symptoms:
- There is tightness of the muscles in that area, causing reduced range of motion of the adjacent joints.
- There is pain in the area with the Taut Band. The pain can be of many types. The most common is a dull, shooting pain. However, sometimes there may be a sharp pain. Sometimes the Taut Band itself does not hurt, or the pain is accompanied by shooting pain to nearby organs in a pattern called Refer Pain, such as pain in the right shoulder and a shooting, tight feeling to the right temple and right arm, or pain in the hip and a shooting, tight feeling to the right leg. Which can be similar to the pain and numbness of a herniated disc, even though there is no abnormality of the disc at all.
- Feeling of fatigue in the muscles with taut bands or the muscles at the ends, such as having a taut band at the shoulder blade, may make it feel like you can’t lift your arm normally or make a fist. However, if you examine yourself, you may not find any obvious weakness.
- Other symptoms depend on the pattern of Taut Band in each muscle type. For example, if Taut Band is in the muscles in the middle of the chest area. It may cause difficulty breathing. Or if Taut Band is in the muscles in the front of the neck, it may cause dizziness.
Is it dangerous if I don’t treat myofascial pain syndrome?
There are no reports that Myofascial Pain Syndrome causes other serious diseases. However, it is often found in conjunction with other diseases. For example, patients with different levels of herniated discs may have Taut Bands along the muscles that the nerves innervate. Patients with tendon and bone injuries may have Taut Bands at the injured area (e.g., patients with sprained ankles often have Taut Bands on the shin muscles, or patients with plantar fasciitis often have Taut Bands on the calf muscles).
Sometimes, having pain from Taut Bands for a long time can turn into chronic pain or Fibromyalgia Syndrome, which makes treatment more difficult.
Therefore, even though this symptom is not dangerous. It should be treated properly and if the symptoms do not improve, further examination should be done to find the cause or related disease so that it can be completely cured.
Treatment of myofascial pain syndrome
Treatment can start with self-care, stretching muscles frequently. If it does not improve. See a specialist to diagnose the cause and provide treatment at the root cause along with loosening the Taut Band. Taut Band can be managed by physical therapy procedures such as massage and manual therapy by a physical therapist (Therapeutic Massage and Manual Therapy). Which is done in conjunction with the use of tools such as ultrasound, shock waves, etc. if there is an indication.
Or treatment with acupuncture to relax muscles, both Dry Needling and Trigger Point Injection. Is another popular method, which must be done by a rehabilitation physician or specialist. And at present, treatment by Thai traditional medicine. Chinese medicine, or various alternative medicines has begun to play a greater role in managing muscle fascia. However, if the treatment is ineffective, do not forget to always go back and find the cause in detail again.
Prevention of myofascial pain syndrome
The best prevention is to observe your own behavior correctly, sleep, sit, stand, walk. According to ergonomic principles, live a balanced life. Do not do too much or too little that will cause muscle imbalance, and always exercise to strengthen the muscles. With rest days to allow the body to fully recover and not have excessive muscle use.
If you are in the treatment or have already recovered. The most important thing is to find the cause of the muscle fascia or Taut Band. If the cause is found. You should treat or avoid it along with the treatment. *In addition. You must exercise properly to maximize the effectiveness of the treatment and reduce the chance of it recurring as much as possible.
In conclusion, ‘muscle fascia’ is not as dangerous as you think, but it often causes concern in life. In addition, muscle fascia pain may occur with other diseases. Therefore, you should observe the symptoms and seek treatment. It should not be left untreated in the long term in order to be able to return to living a happy life as much as possible.