Trigger Points in Ortho-Bionomy: Maps of Holding and Release
Within Ortho-Bionomy, myofascial trigger points offer a way of sensing how the body is currently organising itself. First mapped in detail by Dr. Janet Travell in the mid-20th century, these points are specific areas in muscle tissue that often become tender when patterns of contraction, fatigue, or overuse are present. Sometimes they radiate sensation elsewhere in the body, sometimes they simply feel sharp and local. Either way, they can be understood as signposts of how the body is holding itself together in this moment.
In Ortho-Bionomy, trigger points are recognised as reference points. They highlight how the body is adapting and offer a way of sensing where change may quietly begin. Rather than obstacles, they can be seen as markers of the body’s own conversation with itself — places where awareness gathers and reorganisation becomes possible.
The Shoulder and Pelvis: Landscapes of Complex Holding
A high density of trigger points often appears in the shoulder girdle and the pelvic basin — two regions that serve as central hubs for movement, posture, and balance.
Shoulder region: Many trigger points appear through the web of muscles that stabilise and move the shoulder. These often reflect the way the body has adapted to repetitive use, the need to brace, or the subtle vigilance that collects around the upper back and neck.
Pelvic region: Trigger points are also common in the muscles that support and rotate the hips. They often mirror the body’s efforts to stabilise itself through holding patterns shaped by long-standing posture, imbalance, or protective guarding.
Each point offers information. In Ortho-Bionomy, this information is met with care and curiosity — as part of how the body communicates its needs and adaptations.
Trigger Points and Referred Pain
Trigger points also provide a way of noticing referred pain — the way sensation in one part of the body may be linked with activity elsewhere. In Ortho-Bionomy, this relationship becomes part of how the work is applied in practice.
Lumbar spine: When the low back is involved, the associated trigger points in surrounding muscles can act as markers. By locating these points, the practitioner gains feedback about how the lumbar vertebrae are influencing the whole system. The points also guide the use of positional release, allowing the body to be gently placed in a position that reduces strain. As the point softens, it reflects a shift not only in the muscle but also in the deeper support of the spine.
Shoulder joint: Similarly, in the shoulder, specific trigger points show which aspects of the joint are engaged in tension or pain. These points help orient the practitioner to the most relevant positioning — subtle lifts or rotations that invite ease into the stabilising muscles. When the trigger point releases, the change can often be felt as improved clarity of movement or a sense of the joint being better supported.
Through this way of working, trigger points are not just observed but become active partners in the process. They highlight where pain is travelling, guide the choice of positional release, and reflect how the body is responding. In this sense, they are both a map and a mirror — offering clarity about the pattern and showing how the system is reorganising itself through comfort.
Phase 4 and the Pathway to Release
In a Phase 4 session, the body is gently positioned into ease. Subtle movements, rotations, or lifts reduce neuromuscular strain and invite the proprioceptive system — the body’s internal orientation sense — to recognise safety and reorganise.
Trigger points can serve as quiet markers in this process. Their tenderness, tone, or density may first be noted, and after positioning into comfort, they often feel different.
Tenderness may lessen.
Tissue may soften or feel more yielding.
Warmth or integration may spread in the surrounding area.
These shifts are not imposed. They emerge as the body recognises comfort and responds in its own way. A trigger point becomes a marker of this change — a mirror showing the difference between before and after, between holding and letting go.
Trigger Points as Relational Markers
In Ortho-Bionomy, trigger points are not treated as diagnoses. They are relational — they reflect how the body is holding before a release, and they reflect what has shifted after.
This simple feedback loop offers both practitioner and client a way of noticing integration. Pain softens, or a knot feels quieter, and the difference is experienced not as an abstract idea but as a lived sensation.
Because the approach is gentle, the point stays accessible. The body does not need to guard or resist. The conversation continues, and the system finds its own rhythm of change.
Honouring the Lineage: From Travell to Ortho-Bionomy
The detailed mapping of myofascial trigger points by Janet Travell and later David Simons brought clarity to how muscles carry tension and how pain is often referred throughout the body. Their work remains a cornerstone of musculoskeletal medicine.
Ortho-Bionomy honours this lineage while refining how trigger points are met. Within this approach, points are understood as expressions of the body’s current adaptations — temporary strategies that reveal where the body is holding. When met with presence and comfort, they often become thresholds: places where reorganisation naturally begins.
The map remains, but the orientation shifts. Trigger points are no longer treated as dysfunctions, but as markers of the body’s intelligence. Through gentle positioning and awareness, they become pathways into release and coherence.