Per viewer’s request, this week I’m going to show you trigger points for toe pain. When you have a pain in your body, the source of the pain may be local to the painful area or it could be somewhere else. Trigger Points often cause this referred pain somewhere else.
For pains in the toes, there are several possibilities. For today’s video I’m using Real Bodywork’s TriggerPoints interactive app to show the Trigger Points. This app is awesome.
Muscle Trigger Points by Real Bodywork:
[one_third_first]iOS version:
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[one_third]Droid version:
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[one_third_last]Microsoft version:
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Blue X is the trigger point and blue shaded area is the referred pain.
For the toe pain, the Trigger Points may be found in the shin muscles. For a pain in the big toe the trigger point may be found in Tibialis Anterior which flexes the entire foot from the ankle. Your mission is to see if you have the trigger point in this muscle. Flex your foot and follow the big muscle.
The trigger point will be located about hand width from the kneecap. If you find a tight, tender spot, you may have found the trigger point. Massage it out with slow short strokes 10 times at a time with a hooked thumb supported by the other hooked thumb or supported fingers. If you have a tool such as Knobble or Thera Cane, definitely use it to save your hands.
The trigger point for the big toe may also be found in Extensor Hallucis which lifts up the big toe. I added the yellow part since the app doesn’t show the exact muscle which is kind of hidden. To find the trigger point lift up the big toe and follow the tendon and muscle. It will be located about the half way between the knee and the foot. If you find a tight spot, massage it out the same way as before with a hooked thumb supported by the other hooked thumb or supported fingers.
For the pain in other toes, the trigger point may be found in Extensor Digitorum Longus which lifts up the four toes. To find it, lift up the four toes and follow the tendons and muscles. Again, the trigger point will be located about hand width below the kneecap but more on the outer side. If you find a tight spot, massage it out the same way as before with a hooked thumb supported by the other hooked thumb or supported fingers.
Another place you can investigate is interossei muscles on the foot. If you have a pain in any of these blue shaded area, massage out the corresponding X with a hooked thumb or other fingertips by wrapping the foot. Massage out the tight spot with slow short strokes 10 times at a time.
I hope this is helpful!
Massage Monday #469 Trigger Point for Toe Pain http://bit.ly/mm-469