MYOFASCIAL PAIN (RD GERWIN, SECTION EDITOR) Etiology of Myofascial Trigger Points

# The Author(s) 2012. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is described as the sensory, motor, and autonomic symptoms caused by myofascial trigger points (TrPs). Knowing the potential causes of TrPs is important to prevent their development and recurrence, but also to inactivate and eliminate existing TrPs. There is general agreement that muscle overuse or direct trauma to the muscle can lead to the development of TrPs. Muscle overload is hypothesized to be the result of sustained or repetitive low-level muscle contractions, eccen-tric muscle contractions, and maximal or submaximal con-centric muscle contractions. TrPs may develop during occupational, recreational, or sports activities when muscle use exceeds muscle capacity and normal recovery is disturbed