Customer Reviews

The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was really worried that this book might have been a standard new-age, make-a-buck, quack title. Thank goodness that turned out to be a groundless worry. This is an excellent book (with medical references) that does a very good job of helping you get rid of pain. I had hurt my lower back by performing the arduous task of putting on my underwear. The doctors and physical therapist couldn't really come up with a reason for it. After a month, it still wasn't getting any better. Searching the web gave me references to this book. Within three days of reading it and poking around in my UPPER (not LOWER) back, my thighs, and my abdomen, the pain has faded to just a reminder. I'm still not able to bend and reach like I used to. But, I'm exercising and stretching again, so hopefully that'll change. Best of all, it no longer hurts just to SIT (or lie down or stand, for that matter). After showing my wife that her lower body has just about every active trigger point known, she's also reading the book and working on her points. Hopefully, her pain will reduce in a couple of days, too.

The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five is that it's kind of hard to find and reference ALL the trigger points associated with a specfic pain FOR THE FIRST TIME. The book does have a diagram for pain locations at the start of each chapter. But, in many cases, the pain will be caused by multiple trigger points in multiple body locations. It takes quite a bit of paging through the book to figure out what you're supposed to do. Once you figure it out, though, the book is great. Of course, in the author's defense, I can't come up with a better organization method outside of having some kind of software with an anatomical display using hyperlinks.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book if you suffer from any kind of chronic pain. Even if your doctor has pronounced judgement that he/she knows what's causing things, try this book. As the author says, trigger point therapy should be the first course of treatment: it's easy and cheap.

I was in so much pain that I couldn't sleep at night. I was diagnosed with arthritis (hip, back, etc), but I was not satisfied that this explained my pain. Then I found Davies' book and started to work on trigger points with the rubber ball he recommends. It didn't solve all my problems, but it reduced my pain to the point where I could sleep without pills (and demonstrated that my pain was at least partly muscular)--and all for the cost of a ... little ball! And now (several other therapies later), I still keep the book and the rubber ball by my bed, and still follow its directions to massage key areas on a daily basis.

This book is terrific--the best "self-help" book I've seen. It is clearly written, well organized, mostly well illustrated, and contains a wealth of really useful detail. It is definitely not one of those "glossy" books--all photos and no useful information. The author really does take the approach of someone who was himself helped by this therapy and who wants to make it as clear and accessible to his readers as possible. Very highly recommended.

Mr. Davies has created a very useful reference for my practice as a registered nurse and a massage therapist. I like to show the book to all my clients and most of them end up buying it. Trigger points and the self massage therapy for them are explained in an enjoyable manner. The author's writing is so down to earth that it seems as if he's right in the same room talking to you as you read. It's well organized and based on the works of Travell and Simons. It's easy to look up a particular muscle. The detailed therapy instructions for each site have helpful illustrations and the author explains the usual causes for specific trigger points. I tell my friends, fellow massage therapists and clients that this book is the best resource for self-treatment of muscular pain I have discovered. All health care providers and receivers will benefit from this book and it's not unrealistic to say it will reduce health care costs. The book is a treasure.

Clair Davies is really on to something here. I deal with chronic pain in my massage therapy practice daily. I've been able to help my clients, using Clair's methods, to rid themselves of pain they've dealt with for years. Clair presents his material in an easy to read, practical format--and the pictures are excellent. Anyone--professional and lay person alike--can benefit from this book. In fact, I recommend this book to my clients. I'm always encouraging them to try to help themselves during the time between our sessions. If you've got pain or help others deal with their pain, get this book. You won't be sorry.

This book is a godsend. Clair Davies' book starts by describing the author's personal journey as a person in pain who discovered the power of self-applied trigger point therapy. The book then goes on to detail the basics of trigger point science and methods of self-treatment. Each body region contains muscle-by-muscle descriptions of trigger point locations, causes, referred pain patterns, and specific self-treatment techniques with fingers, thumbs, tennis balls or other hand-held "tools".

Two populations will benefit. The first are professionals dealing with myofascial pain. Mr. Davies' book has neatly summarized many of the essentials contained in the bar-setting but often intimidating 2-volume "bibles" of trigger point therapy by Janet Travell and David Simons, which will make many more practitioners comfortable with the idea of searching for and treating trigger points with manual techniques.

More important than information for clinicians is the help and hope this book offers to suffering patients. The book's focus is on self-treatment, which is not only *possible*, but is in fact *extremely* effective, and often downright necessary in this day and age: healthcare costs are forever rising, insurance coverage for physical therapy grows progressively more restrictive, massage therapists are often costly and the majority of the time, not covered by insurance, and, money factors aside, pain does not always present itself when professional treatment is readily available. Even with the *best* professional treatment, myofascial conditions are highly recurrent and knowing how to deal with these recurrences empowers patients and thereby reduces fear and apprehension.

With information referenced from current and highly reputable sources, The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook has not only my highest recommendation, but also the endorsement of many, many well-known names in the field of myofascial pain, including one of its pioneers, Dr. David Simons.

I rate this book right up there with Devin Starlanyl's books. I have had Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain most of my adult life and have been disabled the past 5 years. This book by Mr. Davies has just helped me end 2 months of an excruiating flare of muscle pain. I showed it to my Pain Management physician, who is ordering one for his office and will advise his other patients similarly effected to purchase one if possible. When all the doctors don't know what else to tell you about relieving your body/muscle pain, this book is the answer. It is easily understood by medical professionals and laypeople alike. It's deascription of the muscles and the mechanism involved in the creation of unexplained boby pain is outstanding. Anyone, by themself or with another person, will find the diagrams showing the location of trigger points in muscles and how to achieve relief easy to learn. Mr. Davies explanation of massage therapy for trigger point release has made this book one of the best and most valued tools for self-treatment of body pain.

This book provides lots of good information on healing pain. It's written in an accessible, easy-to-read style for people who don't know anything about muscles, yet the information is not simplistic, and is useful even for professionals who want to learn about trigger points. This book is great for people who have chronic pain and are motivated to help themselves. Trigger point massage really does a lot more good than anything doctors have to offer -- most doctors are not trained to effectively help people with muscular pain. And it's cheaper and more effective to do it yourself than pay to see a massage therapist, because you'd need to go every day for most seriously chronic problems. I do have a few complaints: There are lots of illustrations, but they don't always show all the areas of referred pain. There are handy lists arranged by body part, but it would be even more helpful to have a more detailed reference guide where you could look up specific symptoms. I also think Davies is a little too enthusiastic, claiming trigger points are the cause of most pain. He is also unfairly disparaging of massage therapists. Any properly trained massage therapist knows it's not always the spot where it hurts that's causing the problem, and if you know how all the muscles work together to act on a joint, and a little about nerve pathways, you're going to address most of the areas that are likely to have trigger points. Still, he has a valid point in that consumers need to ask whether a massage therapist specializes in relaxation massage or knows how to treat specific pain and injuries.

I confess when I ordered this book I thought all the glowing reports might be a bit exaggerated, and expected nothing more than an above-average manual on massage. I soon found out I was wrong...this book is unlike any I have ever seen. More importantly, the techniques that author Clair Davies outlines *really work*.

The book lays out a complete system for treating muscular pain in the body, with excellent diagrams and clear and detailed explanations. The book addresses a wide variety of common and uncommon aches and pains throughout the anatomy, some of which you might never attribute to a problem with a muscle.

The illustrations clearly show where these patterns of "referred pain" are located, along with the corresponding muscle trigger points. The great thing is that by simply touching the trigger point in question, you can instantly verify that it is in fact the source of the pain.

Davies' writing is direct, honest, and good-humored. The explanations are easy to follow and accessible to the lay-person. Personally, I would have been interested in more detailed medical information in the text, and Davies alludes to some of this in passing. However, he has condensed just the essentials for easy self-treatment in this volume, and the book is probably more effective and usable for that reason.

The massage techniques that Davies describes are simple and can be self-administered, usually with the hands or a tennis ball. I have used the techniques to relieve pain in my shoulders, arms, and hands from sitting for long periods at the computer, as well as sciatic pain and knee pain caused by a bike accident. In each case, I got quick and lasting relief after only a few minutes of massage a day.

Every home should have a copy of this book. It's well worth the investment - it will pay for itself in what you'll save on doctor and chiropractor bills and pain killers.

Mr. Davies writes in a lucid and articulte manner about trigger point therapy and how to apply it. Having dealt with chronic back pain due to a strain while swimming, I had been to a doctor and chiropractor and endured MRI, X-rays, and physical therapy all to no avail and great cost.

Thirty minutes after opening this book and focusing on the areas I hurt I had elminated knee pain that had been around for over a year and greatly reduced my back pain. Follow-up with a massage therapist who works on trigger-point and myofacial release therapies made me pain free for the first time in over six months.

Since then I've bought several copies of this book. I've given them to friends and even acquaintances who have pain and can benefit from this essential information.

I have four "bulged" low back disks. Other than surgery, I've tried everything, and the approach I found in this book worked best. Hard to believe, but the simple massage of trigger points is for me a bigger help than accupuncture, accupressure, chiropractic, PT, yoga, Pilates, Flexeril, NSAIDs, Prednisone, etc.

My wife has plantir faciitis (a runners' foot injury), and it's helped her, too.

You don't even have to read the book, just look for a picture that locates your pain, and rub that set of trigger points (although the book is worth a read).