NAPLES, Fla. — Pure Massage is launching a 24-CE-hour home study continuing education video series, now on DVD, to earn credentials as a certified Trigger Point Specialist.
Finding an effective treatment to release tight trigger point nodules in muscle tissue that is also less taxing to a massage practitioner’s thumbs, fingers, wrists and arms has until now been illusive. The traditional methods of ischemic compression, deep tissue stroking and even the newer trigger point pressure release require a sustained pressure that can fatigue or injure a therapist’s body over time.
A research paper by one of the founders of trigger point therapy, David G. Simons, M.D., explained the science behind trigger point formation as an energy crisis at the cellular level.1 Utilizing this knowledge in combination with a more evolving concept of muscle physiology2 has lead to the development of a new trigger point massage release technique, “The Muscle Melt Method.”
The Energy Crisis of a Trigger Point
It is believed that trigger points form because a vicious electrobiochemical dysfunctional loop is generated in the endplate of the muscle fiber. This perpetuates a crisis where the cell starves for oxygen and glucose and therefore for the energy needed for it to function.
This results in some of the muscle’s fibers progressing to malfunction and they finally, lock up. They lack the energy to unlock and as the dysfunction in the muscle continues, it creates more irritating chemicals, more tight guarding of the muscle and more strangulation of the tiny blood vessels that feed the muscle.
This forms a palpable nodule, which can reach a point where it can activate the predictable referral pain pattern for that trigger point. This is believed to be the reason for myofascial pain, one of the most common maladies motivating a client to seek massage therapy for relief.
The Muscle Melt Method
The Muscle Melt Method can unlock the knots, releasing the nodule so that it just melts away, with less work by the therapist by using a series of compressions in a strategic way. The compression micro stretches the tight myofascial tissue of the nodule and makes space that subsequent decompression allows fresh blood flow to bring oxygen and glucose to the dysfunctional knotted myofibrils. When the knot releases, it feels like a melting sensation to the therapist.
“Frequently, clients report that the pain rapidly decreases, and the client experiences a feeling of release just at the moment of melt,” said Sandra Lee Polizotto, L.M.T., B.S., instructor for Pure Massage courses. “Further treatment sessions can restore normal muscle function by continuing to calm the neurological sensitization. With no further perpetuating factors, normal muscle function can be restored.”
Polizotto was a microbiologist before becoming a massage therapist in Florida 12 years ago. The Muscle Melt Method is her unique technique, based on her research and clinical experience. She publishes a free monthly newsletter of self-help tips.
Read the steps of the method and view video demo clips from the 24CE Course Series by going to the website, www.musclemeltmethod.com.
References
1McPartland JM, Simons DG. “Myofascial Trigger Points: Translating Molecular Theory into Manual Therapy.” The Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy. 2006;14(4):232-239.
2Pollack GH. (1990) Muscles and Molecules: Uncovering the Principles of Biological Motion. Seattle: Ebner & Sons Publishers.
About Pure Massage
Pure Massage is owned by Sandra and Robert Polizotto. Sandra is an approved continuing education provider by the Florida Board of Massage Therapy and The National Certification Board For Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB). All Pure Massage Courses are Florida- and NCBTMB-approved for continuing education credits. Sandra also has a private practice specializing in trigger point therapy to clients in the southwest Florida area. The local website is www.puremassagenaples.com.
Under the Pure Massage brand, Robert and Sandra have created the Muscle Melt Method Trigger Point Certification Series from the cooperative effort of their respective talents. Sandra holds a bachelor of science degree in microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh and worked in research and clinical laboratory fields for over 15 years. Robert Polizotto contributed his expertise in video editing, website design and marketing of the Pure Massage courses.