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Dr. Lowe How to Prepare Patient-to-Patient Fibromyalgia Research Foundation
The
Metabolic Treatment
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Effects
of Trigger Points  Dr. John C. Lowe During 1989 and 1990, three articles I wrote on the psychological effects of myofascial trigger points were published in different chiropractic publications. In recent years, many patients and clinicians have expressed to us an interest in the effects of trigger points on thoughts and emotions. Because of this, we decided to provide the full text of the three articles on drlowe.com. We decided to do so after receiving an e-mail dated November 17, 2000 at askdrlowe@drlowe.com. The author of the e-mail addressed an article I wrote in1990 for the trade publication Dynamic Chiropractic. The gentleman wrote:
You can read the full text of "The globalization of myofascial pain" at chiroweb.com. The reference to the article is:
The year before the publication of the "Globalization" article, two other magazines published additional articles of mine on the same subject—the psychological effects of myofascial trigger points. However, these other articles deal with the subject from different angles. One of the articles is titled "The emotional effects of noxious myofascial stimulation." This article is written so that most readers who aren't health care professionals can easily understand it. In the article, I explain how the noxious sensory signals from trigger points can cause any of a variety of unpleasant emotions. The reference to the article is:
The third article is titled "The myofascial genesis of unpleasant thoughts and emotions: its neural basis." In this article, I describe the neurological mechanisms by which unpleasant thoughts and emotions result from muscle tension, myofascial trigger points, and muscles involved in vertebral subluxations. This article is more technical than the other two. Those who aren't health care professionals may need to use a medical dictionary to understand some of the terminology. Despite its more technical nature, however, I encourage clinicians and patients to read the article. I feel that learning the relevant neurology can help dispel a pernicious myth that many doctors still hold—that chronic myofascial pain is a product of mental or emotional disturbance. Quite the contrary is true—noxious nerve signals from myofascial tissues can induce and sustain mental and emotional disturbance. Getting the direction of causation right can focus attention on the real source of the patient's pain and psychological disturbance, the myofascial tissues. This is important because today, skillful treatment of myofascial trigger points can promptly relieve most patients not only of myofascial pain, but also of the associated unpleasant thoughts and emotions. The reference to the article is:
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