Myofascial pain is often made more severe by inflammation, which is a common symptom. Choosing a myofascial pain treatment will ultimately depend on how severe the symptoms are and the location of the pain. It's also a good idea to get a professional's opinion before beginning rehabilitation. Some of the more common treatments include massages, stretch therapy, oral medications and needling.
Receiving routine massages is often a beneficial myofascial pain treatment for many people. Physical therapists will use special techniques that concentrate on the muscle or muscles that are experiencing pain. Over time, inflammation and muscle tension should decrease. In addition, the overall pain level should be substantially reduced.
Massaging tends to be a good option for people experiencing mild to moderate pain, and usually creates positive results. The downside is that this can be a somewhat expensive option. If treatment occurs on an ongoing basis, the cost can quickly add up.
Stretch therapy is another type of myofascial pain treatment that can effectively loosen up muscles and relieve pain. There is actually a specific version of this called stretch and spray therapy. It works by spraying a cooling substance on the tender areas and slowly stretching them. This can be very therapeutic for many muscle pain sufferers and help them to achieve more flexibility.
Oral medications are a type of myofascial pain treatment that aim to heal the muscles by internal means. Typically, some sort of anti-inflammatory drug is used to reduce swelling and pain. Many medications can be purchased over the counter at most pharmacies, while other more potent options require a prescription from a physician.
The effectiveness of oral medications has been debated and they don't appear to work for everyone. The level of pain reduction tends to differ between individuals and sometimes they don't do much for extreme cases. Nonetheless, many mild to moderate cases of myofascial pain can at least benefit to some degree. In addition, this is one of less expensive forms of treatment.
Needling is an additional type of myofascial pain treatment that is designed to reduce muscle tension. During this procedure, a therapist injects needles around the central location experiencing the pain. Often, there will be some type of anesthetic included with the needle that helps to numb the pain. This treatment is usually one of the last options tried and is primarily for people who have showed no response to any of the previous options.