Research Article Trigger Points: An Anatomical Substratum

Copyright © 2015 Flávia Emi Akamatsu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This study aimed to bring the trapeziusmuscle knowledge of the locationswhere the accessory nerve branches enter themuscle belly to reach the motor endplates and find myofascial trigger points (MTrPs). Although anatomoclinical correlations represent a major feature of MTrP, no previous reports describing the distribution of the accessory nerve branches and their anatomical relationship with MTrP are found in the literature. Both trapezius muscles from twelve adult cadavers were carefully dissected by the authors (anatomy professors and medical graduate students) to observe the exact point where the branches of the spinal accessory nerve entered the muscle belly. Dissection was performed through stratigraphic layers to preserve the motor innervation of the trapezius muscle, which is located deep in the muscle. Seven points are described, four of which are motor points: in all cases, these locations corresponded to clinically describedMTrPs.The four points were common in these twelve cadavers.This type of clinical correlation between spinal accessory nerve branching and MTrP is useful to achieve a better understanding of the anatomical correlation of MTrP and the physiopathology of these disorders andmay provide a scientific basis for their treatment, rendering useful additiona