How to Loosen Trapezius Trigger Points

I will help you understand the causes of trapezius trigger points and share home strategies to loosen them!

I came across a post on a forum about a pianist who was repeatedly troubled by shoulder, neck, and back pain.¹

If you have a similar posture habit — sitting over 8 hours a day, constantly typing away with bent arms. You may be experiencing tension and pain. That can make it difficult for you to work or play with total concentration and efficiency.

Don’t panic. Scroll to get solutions.

The trapezius, also known as the traps muscle. It originates at the base of the skull and extends down to the middle of the back. It then spreads out to the scapula and forms a triangle.

So, you know, it affects a wide range of.

It connects the neck, upper limbs, and upper back. The trapezius controls and stabilizes shoulder movement. It also contributes to the movement of the neck and upper back. It’s a primary muscle used when operating computers and phones, cooking, and sweeping.

A trigger point (TrP) is a hyperirritable spot within contracted muscle fibers. It is painful upon compression and can cause referred pain and autonomic phenomena.²

It is similar to the Ashi points in traditional Chinese medicine. They have no fixed location and can cause limitations in the movement of adjacent joints.

Trigger points often develop in stiff muscles or spasming myofascial tissues. Sometimes, they may be present in areas far from the affected site. Trapezius trigger points are muscle knots located in the neck or upper back areas. When you press on them, you might feel soreness that can radiate to other areas.

5 Factors:

• Certain postures, such as shrugging or looking down, can easily lead to the formation of trapezius trigger points. For example, curling over a phone.
• Overusing a computer for work.
• Driving.
• Playing piano.
• Shivering.

These postures overwork your traps muscle every day. Allowing it to remain passively shortened or overstretched for long periods without movement causes it to tighten.

In addition to physical factors, mental stress can also cause traps muscle tension and spasms. When a person is under stress, it naturally contracts, leading to tightness.

If a tight muscle remains unrelaxed for a long time, trapezius trigger points can develop in the myofascial tissues. These can lead to symptoms of pain and discomfort.

They can also cause a reduced range of movement, leading to an inability to maintain an arm-raised or head-up posture. Furthermore, your posture may change to a shorter neck, rounded shoulders, uneven shoulders, neck hump, and forward head posture hump.

In severe cases, an overly tight trapezius can pull on the cervical spine and compress nerves at the base of the skull. This can lead to symptoms such as dizziness, trapezius headache, sore chin, and numb arms as part of the referred pain.³

There are many methods to relieve tension in the trapezius muscle. The following methods may be more effective at keeping your trapezius relaxed for a more extended period.

Scroll down to learn some new ways to get rid of trigger points in your trapezius.

This is one of the quickest and simplest methods to restore elasticity to tense muscles. The advantage is that you don’t need tools, and you can stretch anywhere, whether you’re in the office or on the road.

It includes 4 movements:

• Raising your head
• Looking straight ahead, tucking in the chin
• bowing your head
• Looking straight ahead, bending the head to each shoulder side

When you stick with it for a while, you may find that stretching helps to release knotted and sore trapezius muscles. However, it won’t make the trapezius knots go away, and the effect of release cannot be maintained. That’s because when trap trigger points have formed, an external force is required for better relief.

To massage the trapezius, you can use tools like a lacrosse ball, a solid massage ball, or a massage gun, or you might book a professional therapist.

You could target the muscle knots with the massage tool and then apply pressure to help loosen the trapezius trigger points.

Massaging the traps muscle can increase blood circulation and improve flexibility — like how plants benefit from sunlight and carbon dioxide — and release tension in traps.

This common massage method is easier to perform than stretching but still cannot completely release the trapezius trigger points.

Although stretching and massaging can loosen the traps muscle to a degree, the following method is more effective at releasing tight muscles.

50% off, Today Only

The principle behind this technique is muscle reflex responses. It involves pressing down on the traps muscle along the cervical and lumbar spine, from top to bottom. This targets the bottom edge of this triangular muscle.

By pressing the traps muscle close to the spine, you trigger the entire trapezius to stretch and relax as a whole. Use this for 5 minutes per session, and with increased frequency, muscle knots will soften, and tense muscles will be fully relaxed.

Additionally, it involves deep pressing of 2 points at the base of the skull, relaxing nerves that may be compressed, affecting the nerves running to the back of the head, cervical spine, and shoulders.

50% off, Today Only

With consistent use for 2 weeks, signs like arm numbness and dizziness may reduce. More severe cases may take a month or even longer to alleviate.

As we’ve just discussed, sustained pressure rather than striking the muscle is the most effective way to loosen trapezius trigger points.

With this approach, you can obtain both massage and stretching effects, which makes the traps muscle more resistant to the impacts of poor habits. When you lie on a trapezius massager, it will apply consistent pressure to the trapezius, and then you need to breathe deeply and stay relaxed.

If possible, you can add the following 2 movements:

1. The “head traction” to correct issues of upper trapezius protrusion.
2. Swinging both arms. It helps loosen the muscle groups in the neck, shoulders, and upper back, restoring flexibility.

Otherwise, it would help if you had no further effort. Use it twice daily, and with consistent use over time, muscles will gradually relax and heal faster.

It is the actual easy-to-use trapezius trigger points massager you’ve been looking for to use at home. The massager may look strange and straightforward in design, but it can help relieve the issues caused by tight traps muscles.

It replicates the technique used by massage therapists to traction the patient’s head, including the angle, height, and pressure. By lying on it, you can experience the same muscle stretching and cranial sacral massage to improve your upper back posture.

50% off, Today Only

In addition to the 2 massage nubs for the cranial area with tough massage, there are 12 massage nubs for the upper back similar to the thenar. They provide a gentle and sustained pressure that won’t hurt you but will help loosen the tight trapezius.

Using it in your daily routine can help you make progress in releasing tension, especially if you spend a lot of time sitting.

Whether for computer work or scrolling on your phone, the trapezius massager can help you.

50% off, Today Only

It can also be used to relieve the tension in the lower back. By reversing its direction, the area that initially stretches the trapezius can be used to traction the lower back. It can release the tension and strain from the neck to the back.

I recommend using it for 5min on each area, spending a total of 10 minutes massaging your neck and back.

The trapezius massager will keep you in the best condition.

It can loosen:

• Suboccipital
• Trapezius
• Lower back

50% off, Today Only

Use it twice a day to promptly relax each tense muscle. It can help you start each day anew, leaving the fatigue behind.

Simply loosening without adjusting your lifestyle habits can lead to recurring pain.

Therefore, taking the time to exercise, as well as standing and walking more, are essential. If you are already in pain, wait until the pain has almost disappeared before exercising. It is a pivotal step in completely relieving pain in traps muscle.

Furthermore, even if you have the best posture or use a standing desk, spending over 8 hours a day on the computer will inevitably tighten your trapezius muscles.

It is because your trapezius muscles are constantly working when your arms are bent or forward. Therefore, taking breaks, stretching your head and swaying your shoulders during work can effectively relieve trapezius trigger points.

Finally, pay attention to correcting your sleeping position, avoiding excessive curling and forward tilting of the head. When sleeping, keep warm, as a warm blanket can help ease your body.

If your trap muscle pain is unbearable at the moment, 3 methods can provide quick, short-term relief:

1. Trigger point injection: Relief will occur within 24-72 hours and last for about a month each time.
2. Cupping therapy: Professional cupping techniques from a therapist can have unexpected results. After cupping, do not shower or get wet for 6 hours, and try to avoid sweating. Additionally, the marks left on the skin will disappear in about a week.
3. Acupuncture: This involves inserting dry needles into acupuncture points, providing deeper muscle and nerve stimulation for faster recovery. Doctors will prescribe different plans based on individual situations.

Plans usually consist of 2 parts:

• Where the muscle is, the pain from the dry needle is weak.
• Where the nerves are, it feels numb and achy.

In this article, I have taught you how to loosen trapezius trigger points and achieve released head, neck, shoulder, and back muscles.

50% off, Today Only

Finally, remember to share and save this article.

We will continue to update knowledge about the neck and back.

How to Release Tight Trapezius Muscle to Get Rid of Neck Hump

1. Trapezius pain when playing – Piano World Piano & Digital Piano Forums ↩︎
2. Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual – Janet G. Travell, David G. Simons – Google Books ↩︎
3. Referred pain from trapezius muscle trigger points shares similar characteristics with chronic tension type headache – PubMed (nih.gov) ↩︎