Proprioceptive disturbances caused by trigger points include imbalance, dizziness, tinnitus, and distorted perception of the weight of objects lifted in the hands. Muscle strength becomes unreliable and patients tend to drop things. Trigger points in the soleus can cause depressed ankle jerk. Knee buckling caused by inhibition of the quadriceps can be due to TP s in the vastus medialis. These symptoms can occur instead of pain, or in addition to pain.
Trigger points can cause dysfunction in muscles at a distance.
Treatment of trigger points in the muscles of mastication can relieve or reduce cervical or lumbar pain. Myofascial trigger points cause stiffness and weakness of the involved muscle. Myofascial stiffness of the muscle is most marked after a period of inactivity especially after a night s sleep or after sitting in one position for an extended period. Myofascial trigger points are always bilateral, even when only one side is symptomatic. The worst trigger points on the symptomatic side will always be present on the opposite side as latent trigger points.