Chronic Pain Management: Myofascial Pain Syndrome (Muscle Pain)
Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a fancy way to describe muscle pain. It refers to pain and inflammation in the body's soft tissues. Myofascial pain is a chronic condition that affects the fascia (connective tissue that covers the muscles).
Myofascial pain syndrome may involve either a single muscle or a muscle group. In some cases, the area where a person experiences the pain may not be where the myofascial pain generator is located.
Experts believe that the actual site of the injury or the strain prompts the development of a trigger point that, in turn, causes pain in other areas. This situation is known as referred pain.
What Causes Myofascial Pain?
Myofascial pain may develop from a muscle injury or from excessive strain on a particular muscle or muscle group, ligament or tendon. Other causes include:
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Injury to intervertebral disc
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General fatigue
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Repetitive motions
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Medical conditions (including heart attack, stomach irritation)
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Lack of activity (such as a broken arm in a sling)
What Are the Symptoms of Myofascial Pain?
Myofascial pain symptoms usually involve muscle pain with specific "trigger" or "tender" points. The pain can be made worse with activity or stress. In addition to the local or regional pain associated with myofascial pain syndrome, people with the disorder can also suffer from depression, fatigue and behavioral disturbances.
How Is Myofascial Pain Diagnosed?
Trigger points can be identified by pain that results when pressure is applied to an area of a person's body. In the diagnosis of myofascial pain syndrome, four types of trigger points can be distinguished:
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An active trigger point is an area of extreme tenderness that usually lies within the skeletal muscle and which is associated with a local or regional pain.
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A latent trigger point is a dormant (inactive) area that has the potential to act like a trigger point.
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A secondary trigger point is a highly irritable spot in a muscle that can become active due to a trigger point and muscular overload in another muscle.
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A satellite myofascial point is a highly irritable spot in a muscle that becomes inactive because the muscle is in the region of another trigger pain.
How Is Myofascial Pain Treated?
In some chronic cases of myofascial pain, combinations of physical therapy, trigger point injections, and massage are needed. In select cases, medication is used to treat other conditions that often occur with myofascial pain, such as insomnia and depression.
How can natural remedies help?
Natural remedies have a big role to play in healing after injury of any kind. Herbal medicines have been used for centuries to help repair broken bones, torn and sprained muscles, internal and external bruising and injuries of all types.
Ongoing pain and stiffness due to conditions like arthritis, rheumatism and sports related injuries respond well to natural intervention without the side effects commonly associated with the prescription drugs.
Aromatherapy is a holistic form of treatment which uses concentrated extractions from a wide range of plants in order to effect and assist with healing. Therapeutic massage using carefully selected aromatherapy oils brings the important soothing element of touch to the healing process.
Not only does this help us to feel good, but it also helps to release endorphins and other pain relieving chemicals in our body, thereby bringing relief.
Massage also promotes the flow of oxygen rich blood to the affected areas, thereby speeding up the healing process. In addition, the therapeutic aromas enter the system through the sense of smell and stimulate areas of the brain, assisting with relaxation and pain relief and facilitating the healing process.
Along with massage, one can also burn the oils in a special oil burner for further benefit. The area of the brain which interprets smell is very close to the area that processes emotions. Aromatherapeutic oils therefore work very effectively on the emotional level, a crucial factor in any healing process.
Aromatherapeutic oils may be used along with conventional medicines to reduce the need for prescription painkillers, anti-inflammatories, etc. | 
