The pain of running around? Maybe you have myofascial pain syndrome.

This article is taken from issue 399/Lin Liren.

Will the pain transfer? When your chin hurts, it may be because of the old injury of the coccyx, which will transfer the pain; When your heel hurts, it may be caused by the "pain point" of the tight muscle bundle on your calf. This kind of transmitted pain caused by "pain point" is called "myofascial pain syndrome"

Miss Li is a novice mother. Unexpectedly, only a few months later, her thumb was swollen, and it was so painful that she couldn't even contribute. She thought it was "mom's hand" on her upper body, and only after seeing a doctor did she find out that she had myofascial pain syndrome.

Long-term muscle tension is easy to cause pain in distal muscle transfer.

Zhou Shiwei, director of the Rehabilitation Medical Association and a rehabilitation expert who treated Miss Li, said that Miss Li's symptoms were similar to her mother's hands, but after examination and diagnosis, she had to be milked every day because she had to breastfeed. She pinched her right hand with her right hand and her left hand with her left. When milking, her palms are down, and her arms are not only uncomfortable, but also the long head of biceps on her shoulders will be twisted inward. Over time, the shoulder muscle was injured and a pain point appeared, which would transfer the pain to the tendon on the radial side of her wrist.

Therefore, Miss Li should not treat the tendon of the wrist, but start from the source of the pain "pain point" and change the milking posture to avoid the pain point of the long head of the biceps brachii being repeatedly induced, so that the pain can be improved.

Many people have myofascial pain syndrome, but what is myofascial pain syndrome? This is muscle pain caused by long-term muscle tension. This syndrome will have a tense muscle bundle. The most special thing is that there is a pain point on the muscle bundle, but the pain will transfer to the distal muscle. The pain point usually does not hurt, but it will hurt after pressing, and the muscles that used to hurt at the distal end will be relieved. Metastasis is not only "painful", but also sometimes manifested as goose bumps, acid, numbness and swelling.

Zhou Shiwei, for example, said that when the pain point appears on the inside of the back of the calf (radish leg), the transmitted pain can spread downward, causing pain in the heel or sole; It is also possible to run and cause pain near the thigh or sacral sulcus. Take the pain point on the anterior scalene muscle of the neck as an example, the transmitted pain may spread backward, resulting in pain on the inside of the scapula of the posterior upper back, or chest pain before walking forward.

Six possible reasons

Zhou Shiwei pointed out that patients usually complain about pain in a certain part, but don't think about it. Probably transferred from other places. So the diagnosis needs to confirm whether the pain is caused by pain or transferred from other places. Metastatic pain caused by myofascial pain syndrome, if treated only at the metastatic site, "will become a headache problem and can not completely solve the problem."

Pan Xiaoping, director of rehabilitation department of Shu Tian Clinic, pointed out that the real cause and mechanism of myofascial pain syndrome are not very clear. At present, it is considered that as long as 1 or several pain points are found, the tight muscle bundle is touched, and metastatic pain occurs, and the pain lasts for more than 6 weeks, it can be called "myofascial pain syndrome".

Myofascial pain syndrome is related to the following reasons:

Muscle contraction after sprain, contusion and strain.

Poor posture or long-term immobility, poor blood circulation, leading to muscle tension.

Joint injury or aging, etc.

Lack of vitamins B, C, D and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese and potassium required for muscle metabolism.

Thyroid dysfunction, anemia, abnormal metabolism, abnormal liver function, hyperlipidemia and other diseases.

People with anxiety, depression and neuroticism are more prone to muscle tension, which leads to myofascial pain syndrome.

Multiple sites: shoulders, neck, limbs, upper back, lower back, waist and buttocks.

As long as there is muscle, myofascial pain syndrome may occur, and the prone parts are: shoulder, neck, limbs, upper back, lower back, waist and buttocks. Women in their thirties and forties are more likely to have this syndrome. Pan Xiaoping believes that it may be due to the poor physical strength of women and the multiple pressures of work and family that women have to face at this stage. There are also women who are more sensitive to pain than men and will come to see a doctor when they are in pain.

The pain of myofascial pain syndrome is mostly dull pain, usually not severe pain, but in severe cases, symptoms of autonomic nerve disorder such as insomnia, burping, constipation and diarrhea may occur.

Pan Xiaoping said that13 of patients with myofascial pain syndrome can find the cause and can be improved after treatment. 2/3 can't find the cause, can't be cured, and the symptoms will be good and bad. If you encounter a cold, fatigue, the weather turns wet and cold, and the pressure is high, the symptoms will be aggravated.

Treatment of pain points

The treatment of myofascial pain syndrome is to inject local anesthetic into the pain point or acupuncture the pain point with dry needle. Zhou Shiwei explained that muscles have the ability to learn. For example, if you accidentally fall and sprain, your muscles will contract and play a protective role. However, if no one tells you that the muscles don't need to contract any more, even if the sprain is good, the muscles will contract forever, leading to muscle tension and pain points. At this time, as long as * * * stimulates the pain point, that is, tells the muscle that it doesn't need to contract any more, the muscle will relax and the transfer pain will disappear.

Myofascial pain syndrome caused by simple muscle tension can be effective after about 1 and two treatments; What is more difficult is the problem of scar tissue caused by joint degeneration or joint injury. If the joint or scar tissue cannot be treated directly, the effect of rehabilitation treatment alone is not obvious, and pain may recur. As for other diseases such as bad posture, we should correct bad posture. If it is caused by diseases such as thyroid dysfunction, we must first control the condition.

Bathing, acupuncture and scraping all help to improve the pain.

For patients with poor treatment effect, Pan Xiaoping thinks that some methods can be used to relieve pain, such as taking a hot bath or soaking in water, because the water temperature of 38 ~ 40℃ can relax muscles and soak for about 20 minutes each time. If the muscle pain is severe, you can heat the water to 40 ~ 42℃, which will help to improve the pain.

In addition, acupuncture, scraping, cupping and vitamin B, C and D supplementation are also helpful. However, some people use any of these methods, such as taking a hot bath, which improves obviously, but others try many methods at once, such as acupuncture, cupping and scrapping, to no avail. Pan Xiaoping suggested that each method generally takes 2 weeks to see the effect. If one method doesn't work, you can try other methods until you find the right one.

* * * "Desensitization therapy" keeps the pain away.

Jian Wenren, a physical therapist at Taipei Guotai Hospital, provided a set of desensitization therapy. Although the tender point hurts when touched, you can press this point first and then rub it, or pinch, grasp and rub it. It doesn't matter if it hurts a little, but it should be gentle. Press for about 20 ~ 30 seconds each time, and you can do it several times a day. "Desensitization therapy" can make the pain point adapt to the pain, and it is no longer so sensitive, and the pain can be alleviated in a week or so.

Jane Wenren said that patients should learn to relax their mood and muscles. For example, some people have myofascial pain syndrome because of depression and anxiety. If they can have a positive and sunny attitude and keep a happy mood, they can also alleviate their pain. You can do more stretching in the painful part, and more importantly, develop the habit of exercise, strengthen muscle strength and health, and myofascial pain syndrome will stay away from you.