Myofascial Pain is a soft tissue pain disorder that arises from discrete, irritable palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle called myofascial trigger points that cause typical patterns of referred pain. Diagnosis is made by systematic palpation of the soft tissue by an expert examiner. Myofascial trigger points should be considered in the diagnosis of any musculoskeletal pain condition and are often an overlooked cause of chronic pain. There are a variety of treatments available for myofascial pain, but the first step is a correct diagnosis. 

Acupuncture dry needling is one treatment for myofascial trigger points where fine, solid acupuncture needles are used to mechanically stimulate a myofascial trigger point, creating a local twitch response (LTR) within the muscle fiber. This twitch response has been shown to reduce the pain and tightness caused by trigger points by sending a message to the spinal cord, allowing the muscle to “let go”.