Trigger Points and Acupuncture Points

Trigger Points and Acupuncture Points

Of 255 common mTrPs, 238 (93.3 %) had anatomically corresponding classical acupoints. Quantitatively, 89 (37 %) of these 238 corresponding mTrP-acupoint pairs were estimated to be within 1 cm of each other, 107 point pairs (45 %) within 1–2 cm of each other, and another 32 point pairs (13 %) within 2–3 cm of each other. Trigger-acupuncture point correspondences would rise to 95.7 % if six other common mTrPs are considered anatomically corresponding.

Analysis of the relationships of the anatomic locations of mTrPs and acupoints while adhering to the modern conceptualization of myofascial pain as a regional muscle disorder demonstrates ≥93.3 % anatomic correspondence of common mTrPs to classical acupoints.

Source: P.T. Dorsher, MD^, J. Fleckenstein, MD. Trigger Points and Classical Acupuncture Points: Part 1: Qualitative and Quantitative Anatomic Correspondences. Deutsche Zeitschrift für Akupunktur. Volume 51, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 15–24