Myofascial Pain Trigger Points
Myofascial pain trigger points in infraspinatus are a problematic area to work on. They’re hard to reach but this video shows an easy way to access and treat these yourself. Infraspinatus is one of the muscles that make up the rotator cuff. This muscle in particular is an extremely common dysfunction I see in my bodywork practice. Due to its function in moving the upper arm around it means that it’s used when people lift their arms out in front of them. This happens in such common activities as driving, using a computer or many manual labor tasks like hanging sheet rock.
Keeping muscles in the rotator cuff relaxed seems to be good in preventing long term injury or a torn rotator cuff. When you think about tightening a guitar string to the point that it snaps, that is what can happen to a tight infraspinatus. Releasing chronic contractions and trigger points in the area go a long way to helping ease this tension and set things back in good working order.
Remember to go slow, breathe through your nose and relax onto a golf ball or tennis ball when you do this. Take your time and also keep in mind that the area can be extremely tender to the touch. Feel free to fold a rag or towel over your tool of choice to soften the pressure. The area is muscular, not bony and it takes time to get the superficial muscles to relax and allow a deeper tissue to be relaxed and released. Try it first for about 5 minutes, you can extend duration from there.
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