Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(302)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After a full year of severe dysfunction of my right hand, arm, and particularly my right thumb THE TRIGGER POINT THERAPY WORKBOOK revealed to me the astonishing fact that most of my trouble was being caused by 'trigger points' in the scalene muscles of my neck and also in the area above my clavicle. What could I do about it? Simply massage them away - within half an hour of hitting the correct locations my right thumb (and hand and arm) seemed to heal by about 60%! The rest of the healing took maybe 3 more weeks of finding these things and methodically deactivating them.

Other muscles besides the scalene were involved and Clair Davies had them all referenced in the back of the book under "thumb". This is the case for any body part you may need help with, it is all very accessible and easy to find. Needless to say, this book was a miracle in my life - providing a simple solution to a debilitating problem that seemingly did not HAVE any solution (no doctor, acupuncturist, or even most up-to-date-book on repetitive strain injuries seemed to hit upon this stunning information). I went from abject misery to basically playing this strange video game of hunting out and zapping away all these trigger points hidden in my muscles.

I found this book fairly late in the healing process, and so it's important to note that another book, IT'S NOT CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME! helped me immensely with all of the problems I had that did NOT include trigger points - I would even say that my left side (arm, hand) had healed already by studying what I found in that book alone. But the trigger points were the missing piece.

I want to thank the reviewer who suggested getting the book spiral-bound at kinko's so it will lie flat and xeroxing the cover so you can pass it out to everyone you know without lending it (I gave my first copy away but discovered I need the book on an ongoing basis).

I discovered that the book actually has its own website, which you can find by searching 'trigger points' on google. I suggest reading ALL about the book there yourself, and if you think it might help you ordering from amazon because it is cheaper. Even once you have the book, the website makes the info. very accessible.

At a certain point, I started to dot the hard-to-find trigger points on my skin with a marker. It may look bizarre but they can be hard to keep track of and you want to get all of them.

DON'T OVERLOOK THE SECTION ON PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION, even if massaging trigger points seems to be enough to cure you.

The scalene trigger points can be HARD to find. At first I found them easily, but months later my symptoms came back and after 2 weeks of despair I found a terrible trigger point that was almost completely hidden in the scalene, I could only reach it after hitting the muscle at a particular angle.

Underline as you go along! Here and there he mentions areas of referred pain that are NOT depicted in the illustration.

Very relevant pages I xeroxed and taped to the wall.

Again, SOME aspects of Repetitive Strain Injury are not brought about by trigger points, so everyone w/computer related injuries needs to look at IT'S NOT CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME! by Suparna Damany and Jack Bellis and also the books by Emil Pascarelli. If you have REAL nerve damage, trigger point therapy may ease some of your discomfort but it won't resolve the problem.

Those with back problems might want to look into John Sarno's MINDBODY PRESCRIPTION. Maybe even those w/out back problems - however this recommendation is based on other people's experiences not my own.

Other books I used: Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (by Sharon Butler & also her online book about DeQuervain's of the thumb), Your Body's Many Cries for Water, Tendon & Ligament Healing, Free Your Breath Free Your Life...and the PBS program Priscilla's Yoga Stretches (not a book, it is apparently shown in many parts of the US). Some of these I got from the library, but being that my HANDS were at stake I would have just put them all on a credit card if I had had no other choice. I also recommend spending time between the shelves of Barnes & Noble.

If you happen to live in Los Angeles, Janet Travell & David Simon's medical volumes, upon which Clair Davies' work is based, are available at the Central Library (one reference set, and one that you can actually check out). Don't know about other major cities - but they're beautiful, exquisite books and amazingly clear.

Finally, I am just now looking into Bonnie Prudden's books particularly 'MYOTHERAPY' from 1984- and I am surprised because while they are missing key components of The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook they offer insights about trigger points that I have not found in other places. She quotes Janet Travell often, and there is great spirit in her book.

There is no way to express my gratitude to Clair Davies, et al, for making this info. available to the world. I am literally better off knowing about trigger points than I would be had I won a million dollars.

It's a crime that this info has been around for over a quarter of a century & the medical world has not yet grabbed a hold of it.

Good luck everyone!

January 8th, 2006 update: After all that I now have something more to add: I did actually have more trouble getting over a recent relapse than I would have expected, and I have been greatly helped by a massage therapist who is actually very familiar with trigger point therapy. In addition to trigger points, he has been helping me with other forms of massage therapy & guidance on how to rehabilitate my muscles without overdoing it. After being so injured for a long time it is great to have professional guidance in conjunction with self-applied trigger point therapy. He knew about this book & appreciated how well-informed I was - unlike certain doctors I have spoken with who seemed to take offense at my attempt to do my own research! In summary: use this book and if necessary, try to find a great massage therapist as well.

one more thing: the book is almost entirely viewable in google books! also, it has its own website triggerpointbook dot com.

If you suffer from mysterious and FRUSTRATING chronic musculoskeletal pain and are at your wit's end (like I was), ORDER THIS BOOK NOW. This book SAVED ME by helping put an end to about 4 months of "unexplained" pain in my thighs, knees, buttocks and hips. I had spent hundreds of $$ getting x-rays, MRI's, bone scans, and seeing numerous physicians as well as a physical therapist, chiropractor, and a naturopath. None had a clear expanation of what was causing me so much pain for such a long time. I was prescribed massive doses of ibuprofen (which did nothing but ruin my stomach) as well as Valium, Flexeril, Elavil, and finally Prozac. I tried various supplements including potassium, magnesium and B vitamins, but they didn't seem to do anything. I was completely unable to exercise as it made the pain much worse..at times I was unable to walk a couple blocks. I finally got this book last week and realized that little "knots" in my muscles were the source of all this grief. No wonder nothing else (physical therapy, diet, medication) worked! With the book I figured out that I had at about ~10 trigger points in my buttocks/thighs, some which were EXTREMELY painful to massage. Since it was so painful i was a bit skeptical at first but I stuck with it. I began to massage with a tennis ball several times a day. Some trigger points responded immedately after a massage and others took several days, but after a while the aching pains in my legs have subsided! I couldn't believe that something so SIMPLE (something I could do myself) could end such a debilitating problem that numerous doctors & specialists couldn't figure out. Combined with acupuncture and craniosacral therapy & occasional professional deep-tissue massage I would say my pain is 99% gone. I am so glad I discovered this book...I never thought I would find the explanation (and the solution!) for all this pain!! I can now look forward to returning to a normal, pain-free life! Thanks so much to Clair Davies and others who contributed to making this book!!

P.S. I have just started reading through ALL the sections of this book (not just the ones for leg pain) since trigger point massage seems to help with all sorts of pain (i.e. carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, etc). So from now on I will consult this book FIRST before seeking a doctor or some medication for any type of pain. My only regret is that I didn't buy this book sooner!!

I would like to share my exerience ,briefly, with this book. I had shoulder pain for over two months, that neither rest,heat,cooling,meds, or excercise diminished in the slightest. My doctor could find no cause for it, and recommended physical therapy. That didn't help. Out of frustration, I picked up a stack of books at the library. Fortunately, this was the first one I looked at. I was skeptical frankly, but being desparate devoted a couple of hours to reading the salient parts of the book. I found my trigger point ( tender area ) on the front shoulder ( anterior deltoid as I recall ).
I purchased a lacrosse ball as recommened in the book, and proceeded to massage the area using the technique specified. The end result was in two days, the pain thruout my shoulder had diminished by approx. 80%. After 1 week, the pain was gone, with only an occasional sensation. It's been about 2 weeks now since I started, and I still have a very tiny tender area, so I give it the ball treatment a couple of times a day.
It's very important to complete the treatment until the trigger point is TOTALY erased ( as stated in the book ). Also, some have mentioned that the book is highly technical. It is to a degree, but not to where it can't be discerned by the average person with a little perseverance. You don't have to read the entire book! Just the initial couple of chapters on diagnosis and technique, then straight to the chapter that deals with your symptom area. Like I said, I spent a couple of hours reading, and went right at the treatment.
I had to write this, as I could not find the authors email anywhere, and I'm eternally grateful to him for giving the world this treatment technique that a layman can self adminster. If your a pain sufferer you owe it to yourself to at least try this system.

A lacrosse ball and this book have changed my life, and together, they cost less than $20. I have suffered from chronic pain since I was 13. At its worst, my pain was so bad that I was drinking myself to sleep at night and I thought I was going to need crutches to get around. The worst part was, I didn't know what was wrong with me, and the medical explanations I'd been given didn't seem right.

In January of this year I finally found the solution to my pain when I read this book. It knew in such detail what was wrong with me that it even explained every misdiagnosis I have ever been given. No doctor I saw ever mentioned this book, and most people haven't heard of it, but as you can see from all these rave reviews, the book is genius.

Whether you suffer from chronic pain, the occasional sports injury, or pretty much any other kind of pain, this book can help you. Some common issues it can help with are carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, migraines, and bad knees. It can also help you with less common, even extremely uncommon issues. You may find out that whatever problem you think you have is not serious at all and can be solved with this massage technique. Regularly treating your trigger points can allow you to become more active, increase strength, sleep more soundly, and do physical activities you thought you couldn't.

I learned that, surprisingly, activities like stretching, yoga, and physical therapy can actually make your pain worse. I have had multiple bad experiences with yoga and physical therapy. I thought I was crazy for thinking that these exercises that were supposed to help were making me worse, and I scolded myself for being lazy when I quit doing them. What I learned from this book is that by going against medical advice and refusing to do something that was hurting me, I was actually doing everything right.

Listen to your body! Doctors, friends, family members, etc. do not necessarily know what is best. No one lives in your body but you. If other people's explanations or advice don't seem right to you, they probably aren't. If you want a real solution to pain, buy this book. I never thought I'd be able to feel as amazing as I feel today.

I have never bothered to take the time to write a review for a book before, nor have I ever made the claim that a book has changed my life. This book quite literally did just that.
For all of my adult life I have had terrible chronic muscle pain in my upper back, on the outside of both shoulder blades, and in my neck. For over 20 years, not only did I suffer from the pain, but spent a small fortune trying to get help with it. I have been from doctor to chiropractor to osteopath to anyone I thought could help me. I HAD to have at least several massages a month, or I could not function. After reading this book and discovering the information on trigger points, I have been able to resolve the pain myself!! It truly is nothing short of a small miracle in my life. I will still have an occasional massage from time to time, but I don't have to because I am suffering so much I can't function. In fact the first time I visited my regular massage therapist after I had been using the trigger point therapy for a while, she knew right away something was very different before I ever said a word. I was disappointed she didn't seem to take the trigger point therapy approach a little more seriously after I explained how I had transformed my neck and shoulders with it. I try to tell everyone I know about this book in the hopes that maybe it can benefit even one other person the way it has me. The simple solution to a lifetime problem was in my own hands the whole time! Wish I could find the same kind of easy solution for life's other problems...like controlling my weight :)

I stumbled onto this book looking for self-massage techniques, and the main aspect that appealed to me was its physiological-based approach to pain relief instead of something more bound with Eastern mysticism.

Having dealt unsuccessfully with lower back and sciatic-like pain for about five years and worried it was only going to get worse, I was intrigued by the idea of the cause being muscular -- and not even in my back. Eventually I discovered trigger points in my left gluteus muscles that responded exactly as described in the book: at first the massage was painful and even made my leg twitch uncontrollably at times, but continued effort over the course of a month saw my back pain reduced dramatically until it was no longer the first thing on my mind when I woke up, nor a constant, burning presence all day long.

I gently persuaded a friend with trapezius problems to read through the book, and although she was very skeptical at first she did try it out. Now she owns a TheraCane and is telling her friends about how much of a difference it has made for her.

My only criticism of the book -- and it's slight at that -- are that the illustrations are sometimes difficult to interpret, and that the locations of different trigger points sometimes appear to be in the exact same place. A two-inch difference on your body can be substantial, but when represented by a hair's-breadth span in an illustration it can be tough to see.

After purchasing costly orthotics (custom and generic) as well as numerous other foot care products designed to alleviate heel pain, after having steroid shot into my heel (not fun!) and taking a lot of Celebrex, after my podiatrist suggested surgery, I discovered this book and found, aaaaah, relief for the first time in over 9 months.

For the price of this book and an $0.88 bag of small, hard rubber balls, my heels/feet are almost pain-free. And I started the self-therapy five days ago. Amazing! I was just beginning to to think/dread that I'd be in pain for the rest of my life.

Additionally, the book seems to have accurately diagnosed that I have a condition called Morton's Foot which explains many of my other symptoms.

Now, why aren't more DOCTORS aware of this? My podiatrist surely isn't.

I bought this book 2 years ago, after being diagnosed with bilateral ischial tuberosity bursitis (basically, my butt hurt on both sides just where my hamstrings start) and sciatica. I couldn't run, and biking was iffy. Tried all sorts of chiropractic therapy which felt good, but didn't cure anything. I happened on this book in an online forum about bursitis. I bought the book, a Theracane and a massage ball and went to work.

Within only 2 weeks, I was starting to get relief! The book taught me that stretching is not always good when a muscle is littered with trigger points, among other things.

I also found out I have Morton's foot, and since making an inexpensive adjustment to my running shoes, I am having no issues there, either.

This book, IMHO, is invaluable to the serious recreational athlete who is bound to develop myofascial pains not just by doing the sports, but as a result of the REST of our lifestyle (desk jobs, etc.) in identifying and resolving pain. The pictures help you to pinpoint where you are experiencing the pain, and then you work backwards to the offending muscle.

I am constantly recommending this book to others, not as a cure-all, but as a supplement to their other wellness activities, such as stretching, massage, and if you are a fan, chiropractic (especially ART) work.

If you've ever had a pain condition that you've wrestled with getting diagnosed and/or treated, try this book. Chances are there is something in there that can help alleviate your pain.

I have seen all of the 5 star reviews of this book. And the book does have some very good information... however there are quite a few flaws that I found with it:

(A) The massage techniques are EXTREMELY aggresive.. and the book makes little effort to inform people to ease into things. Telling someone with serious (or not serious) pain to cram a lacrosse ball into themselves up to 12 times a day is a surefire way to cause serious bruising and or increased muscle damage. Furthermore, the author uses statements like "mash the muscle into the underlying bone"... ummm....yeeeaaaah.. I wonder how many people have severely bruised or hurt themselves this way yet didnt bother to post a review...?

(B) The author although excited about the technique, certainly (in my opinion) goes to far making it out like.. hey... just massage these couple of places a bunch of times everyday and everything from pain, to digestive disorders, to sports performance will all be cured - improved- fixed -made better... again...a bit too optimistic I think.

(C) The illustrations are exceptionally simple and I dont think it would take "too" much trouble to have had the recently revised edition include better pictures. They have sold hundreds of thousands of these... Im sure someone can afford to pay a decent illustrator to do some better drawings other than the increadibly simpistic ones that are there.

(D) I think the book sets people up with unreasonable expectations.. All of the examples (and reviews on this site) are like.. I suffered from 30 years of chronic debilitating pain- couldnt walk... couldnt sleep... couldnt drive... couldnt work... and after rubbing a tennis ball into my back for 3 days im totally cured. Sorry.. Ive read the book.. Ive used the techniques... I just dont buy it.

I apologize for being such a downer. I am simply trying to offer a more "realistic" assesment of the book and offer some balance to the blizzard of "amazing" reviews the book has.

I really could go on and on... My point.. definately worth a try if you are in pain either acute or chronic... Just keep reasonable expectations and listen to your body... dont over do it.. because if you follow the books intructions to a tee.. you definately will overdo it.

If you have trigger points that are causing you pain, the simple massage techniques really do help. I like that each section lays out "if your pain is here, then try this trigger point first, then move down this list until you find the troublemaker" It's really helpful, especially when more than one trigger point could be the cause. Also, making you aware that some massage techiniques work better than others, depending on the trigger point, really helps you perform what you need, and where you need it.

I get extremely painful muscle spasms, cramps, and tightness, mostly in my lower back and abdominal muscles. Previous to reading this book, I would have episodes where it would start in one place, and then the ineffectual massaging and stretching I would try would set off another set of muscles. I could be affected for hours, with the spasms waxing and waning within different areas. It could take forever to get everything to settle down again. It would run in cycles, where every day, for weeks, one of the trouble areas would flare up. Sometimes I would be left in tears, because of pain and frustration. My doctor couldn't offer me much in the way of relief. He had me on quinine tablets. Quinine! I don't have malaria! ;)

After just reading the section covering the abdomen, the next time I had a spasm start, I was able to locate the troublesome trigger point, apply a dozen short massage strokes right on it, and the pain STOPPED. And it didn't come back for the rest of the evening. And it didn't come back the next evening, at least not in that muscle group. Another one tried to start trouble the nxt evening, but I treated that trigger point, with the same immediate and lasting results. Activities tht could set me up for a pain cycle, like a sudden cough, can still start the spasms, but in a couple of cases it resolved on its own after a few seconds, or immediately after two or three massage stroked on the trigger point. I am completely amazed. It's this easy? I've been suffering all this time, when I could have fixed it myself? My doctor doesn't know bout this? Argh!!!

I cannot express how happy I am, and how confident I am getting with my self-treatment. I've only had the book for a week, and I'm still learning about where to look for the trigger points that cause me so muc trouble, but what I learned the first evening has improved my life so much already! After suffering for years with these spasms, I'm seeing real hope, and a future of doing things that I couldn't do before, for fear of setting off muscle spasms. Simple things, like shopping, or cooking a meal, or picking up around the house. Yay!!!! Now I need to get my rheumatologist to read this book!