Myofascial trigger points are hyperirritable spots located in a taut band of skeletal muscle. They can generate pain and dysfunction and are often caused by mechanical stresses resulting in chronic muscle overload through injury, surgical trauma, neuropathy, joint dysfunction, or osteoarthritis. This results in localized hypoxia and ischemia and the release of inflammatory mediators, which sensitize afferent nerve fibers accounting for the tenderness of the area. On a palpation level, this feels like a golf ball or a hard knot in the muscle belly.
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