Pain Relief with Trigger Point Self-Help

I am a physical therapist specializing in chronic pain - which means I see a lot of people with chronic trigger points (TrP). I often loan this book to patients to help them figure out what might be aggravating their TrP, what habits they could change, what stretches or self TrP pressure they could do to manage the TrP. The book is thorough, accurate, easy for non-medical people to understand but also an excellent reference for people who treat TrP. I recommend this as the best general purpose book on TrP, overall (other books on TrP in specific body regions have more detail, but only about one body region). I recommend this book highly and give it 5 stars based on the quality of its contents. I just wish it came in a spiral binder, because it would be nice to lay it out flat while doing the suggested exercises - the binding breaks down in less than a year of use. I'd rate construction quality at 3 stars.

Great book with tons of helpful tips! Item shipped very quickly & has been shared with a few people already! They're all in the process of ordering their own copies!

Excellent information and explanations. Outstanding illustrations!

It was way too technical. I had to keep going back to figure out the terminology she was using. It read more like a textbook. I finally just stop reading it.

This is such a good book! Very clearly written and helpful!

This book is bigger than I expected, but it's crammed full of useful information and excellent instructional photographs. It is mainly aimed at muscular pain, so bear that in mind if you have other types of body pain. The idea behind the book is that you learn where the 'trigger' sites are that are linked to other painful areas, you are then able to press lightly on these 'trigger' points which help dull the site of pain. I am still learning the rudiments, but feel that it could be surprisingly good. The book is very comprehensive in the explanations about how our bodies work, anatomically speaking and how best we can look after them. I am sure with reading thoroughly and regular practice that anyone would be able to follow the instructions, maybe with some help at times. A tennis sized ball and a pencil with one of the slip-on erasers is also used on some trigger point areas in the book.This book is one that I will certainly dip in and out of over the coming years, as any help is better than relying on medication to eradicate pain.

An excellent book covers everything you would every want to know about anatomy ,symptoms & self help technique. It is very heavy going to read but persevere it is well worth it. I bought it mainly for hamstring problems i have on a reoccurring basis. It certainly provides the info i need to help prevent & reduce reoccurrence of such injuries

I have a number of books on Trigger Point Therapy, but this is definitely the best. Clearly illustrated with lots of advice on trigger points and how to avoid them, I found this book to be invaluable. I am a qualified reflexologist, but an entry level student can also gain help and assistance with this book. Highly recommended.

Despite this being quite a big book it seems fairly simple to find specific areas of interest - very useful.

This is a book by American author Valerie DeLaune who clearly knows her stuff and has over 20 years experience as a bodyworker. I think this book is more like a text book than a mere self-help book because it has so much information packed in.It is complex yet understandable as long as you can put in some concerted effort and concentration. Some parts and techniques are more simple and accessible to the layperson.The author starts the book with an explanation of what exactly are Trigger Points, and How will you know if you have them? she explains "The two most important characteristics of trigger points that you will notice are tender "knots" or tight bands in the muscles, and referred pain. You may also notice weakness, lack of range motion,or other symptoms not normally associated with muscular problems." eg urinary frequency and chronic belching are just two of these.Also importantly" unless you know where to search for trigger points, and you only work on the area where you feel pain, you probably will not get relief. eg, trigger points in the iliopsoas muscle(deep in your abdomen) can cause pain in your lumbar region. Part 2 of the book teaches you where to look for trigger points and how to treat each muscle."I found this book very impressive in the layout and detail. There are diagrams of the body and body parts, to help you learn about the muscles and where the trigger points are exactly is highlighted in a red glow effect.There are clear photographs of the author demonstrating her techniques on herself, which helped me see that this is a Self-help technique that even a layperson could do. The photos are very clear and helpful, so you can manage to see where the trigger points are, otherwise as a complete beginner this would feel an impossible task. However this book would work really well in tandem with seeing a bodywork practitioner.The body parts are also listed in latin, with additional pronunciations of these words . I liked that touch. There is of course a good index of ailments and topics covered at the back of the book.The text is laid out really clearly with the solutions to the ailments in darker blocks, making reading easier.The book contains tips on getting out of pain and also tips on avoiding trouble ahead. Posture of course, what type of pillow etc.I am certainly going to devote time to giving some of these methods a go as I suffer a lot of muscular pains and would like to reduce my intake of painkillers.