Myofascial pain is pain and inflammation of muscle and/or the fascia, which is connective tissue that surrounds muscle. This pain may be localized, radiating or referred. So you may not actually know where your pain originates.
Myofascial pain is caused by trigger points, which are sensitive areas of muscle fibers. A trigger point can then cause pain throughout a muscle. Myofascial pain symptoms are usually associated with a specific myofascial trigger point, sometimes referred to as tender point. These can form after an injury or overuse.
Myofascial pain may cause headaches or pain in your jaw, neck, low back, pelvis, arm and leg. And this pain may be aggravated by activity or stress.
Occasional muscle pain that resolves within a couple of days is very common. But myofascial pain is different in that it persists and worsens. And your pain may be accompanied by numbness and muscle weakness, with depression, fatigue and insomnia included on some sufferers complaint list as well.
Some of the factors that could potentially be responsible for your myofascial pain, at least in part, are:
- gout
- anemia
- inactivity
- poor posture
- muscle injury
- hypoglycemia
- general fatigue
- stress, anxiety
- hypothyroidism
- sleep deprivation
- chronic infections
- skeletal asymmetry
- repetitive stress injury
- leg length discrepancy
- maintaining same position for long time
- excessive stress on muscles, ligament, tendon
- calcium, potassium, iron, vitamins C, B1, B6 & B12 deficiencies
Myofascial pain dysfunction is a health condition that causes painful jaw joints, which limits movement and instigates headaches. As with TMJ, some of the factors believed to contribute to your jaw dysfunction are:
- bruxism
- ill fitting dentures
- excessive gum chewing
- malocclusion ~ a poor bite
In addition, stress likely plays a role in causing myofascial pain dysfunction.
When myofascial pain is chronic it is referred to as myofascial pain syndrome. This chronic myalgia is similar to that of fibromyalgia, and some theorize myofascial pain syndrome is a precursor to this health condition.
Symptoms of chronic myofascial pain syndrome may involve:
- muscle stiffness
- muscle weakness
- pain persists or worsens
- deep, aching muscle pain
- joint stiffness near painful muscle
- knotted, tight muscle spots that are highly sensitive to touch
Treatment of myofascial pain syndrome typically requires an assortment of approaches to discover which one works best for you. The range of treatments being deployed for myofascial pain are medication, trigger point injections, physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractic therapy, stretching and stress management.
Medication for chronic myofascial pain syndrome usually starts with taking a OTC anti inflammatory. If this fails, then some find relief with an antidepressant that not only treats their depression, but muscle pain and insomnia too.
Trigger point injection treatment for myofascial pain syndrome is done by inserting a small needle into your myofascial trigger point that contains an anesthetic, and sometimes a corticosteroid, to numb the pain and reduce inflammation. Some report sustained pain relief after a few treatments.
These trigger point injections may be inserted in several locations around your trigger point, also called needling. Pain relief needling can also be successful without injecting any medication. One reason it’s done this way is because of a drug allergy.