Concise Book

Most muscular aches and pains are caused or affected by untreated “trigger points,” localized tender spots in muscles. Understanding and treating these points can lead to rapid and lasting pain relief. Trigger point therapy is a powerful tool in the management of both acute and chronic pain, including such common problems as headaches, TMJ syndrome, and back pain. The Concise Book of Trigger Points has set the gold standard for providing a clear understanding of the treatment of trigger points. Designed for the student and practitioner of massage/bodywork, physical therapy, physiotherapy, osteopathy, sports therapy, and any other health-related field, it functions both as an entry-level textbook and an authoritative reference for even the most experienced therapist.

Updated to include quick reference tables, an overview of the gross anatomy of the body area and the nerve pathways that are most relevant, and a new chapter on the pelvic floor muscles, the fourth edition of this authoritative, best-selling book offers a comprehensive introduction to the muscular system.

A major development in the safe and effective treatment of myofascial trigger points and myofascial pain, this book is a concise, comprehensive, and well-illustrated reference on dry needling. John Sharkey–an international authority on myofascial trigger points, myofascial pain, myofascial trigger point dry needling, and neuromuscular therapy as well as an accredited clinical anatomist–draws on his thirty years of experience in bodywork and movement therapy to provide accurate and essential criteria for the identification and subsequent treatment of myofascial trigger points through the exclusive use of a fine, filiform needle.