The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief

A fully updated, evidence-based guide to relieving chronic pain, fascia and myofascia dysfunction, muscle tension, and trigger points―naturally and effectively.

Do you struggle with chronic pain, tension headaches, neck pain, back pain, or unexplained aches that never seem to go away? Many cases of persistent pain are caused by problems within the muscles and myofascia: the connective tissue, or fascia, that surrounds and supports your muscles throughout the body. Small, tight knots known as myofascial trigger points can develop in overworked or injured muscles, creating pain that radiates to other areas of the body.

The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook, Third Edition offers a practical, step-by-step approach to identifying and treating trigger points using safe, natural self-massage and bodywork techniques that help reduce pain and restore mobility.

Widely regarded as a classic in the field of pain relief, this bestselling workbook has helped countless readers and health professionals better understand the connection between trigger points, muscle dysfunction, posture, and referred pain.

In this updated third edition, you’ll learn how to:

Identify and treat trigger points that contribute to chronic muscle and joint pain
Relieve common conditions such as neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, headaches, and sciatica
Use self-massage and trigger point therapy techniques to reduce pain naturally
Improve circulation, flexibility, posture, and muscle function
Recognize movement patterns and postural imbalances that contribute to pain
Use illustrated symptom guides, muscle tests, and treatment maps to target pain more effectively
Apply updated clinical techniques and assessments included in this expanded edition


Featuring new material by Amber Davies continuing Clair Davies’ groundbreaking work, this edition includes updated illustrations, postural assessments, muscle testing tools, and an illustrated symptom index to make self-assessment and treatment easier than ever.

Used by massage therapists, physical therapists, chiropractors, physicians, athletes, and everyday readers alike, trigger point therapy has become one of the most trusted and effective approaches for treating chronic muscular pain.

Whether you’re a healthcare professional or someone searching for lasting relief, this comprehensive workbook gives you the tools to better understand your pain―and take an active role in healing it naturally.

Clair Davies, NCTMB (Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork), is a member of the American Massage Therapy Association, and a graduate of the Utah College of massage Therapy. He specializes in trigger point massage for the treatment of pain.

"I have long been a believer in and practitioner of trigger point therapy. I certainly recommend this book to the general public and health care practitioners. It is truly an excellent resource and provides the tools that induce self-healing and empowerment."
―Bernie S. Siegel, MD, author of Love, Medicine, and Miracles and Prescriptions for Living and former student of Janet Travell, MD, author of Travell & Simons’ Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual

"This is … a well-organized, easy-to-use handbook that will indeed help sufferers of myofascial pain learn to treat themselves with effective self-massage techniques. The detail and clarity of the book’s format will also make it invaluable to pain physicians who want to be able to teach their patients useful, simple strategies to manage soft tissue pain problems."
―Joseph F. Audette, MD, instructor at Harvard Medical School and director of Outpatient Pain Services at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Medford, MA

"This is a useful book for anyone in chronic pain. There are few resources like this one, which empowers the reader to understand the problem and offers the tools to manage it. The approach to managing pain described in this book will help many take control of a significant part of their health and will become a valuable lifelong reference."
―Scott M. Fishman, MD, chief of the Division of Pain Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of California, Davis and author of The War on Pain

"As a medical doctor who has been challenged by patients experiencing chronic pain, including those suffering from long-standing cases of fibromyalgia, I appreciate a safe solution for their problem. I believe this book, revealing that trigger point therapy may safely relieve chronic pain, should be in the hands of every doctor."
―Terry Shepherd Friedmann, MD, author of Freedom Through Health

"Trigger point massage therapy may be the most effective treatment known for a wide variety of pain problems, including fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome."
―C. Norman Shealy, MD, PhD, founding president of the American Holistic Medical Association and author of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies

"This must-have book gives practical methods for dealing with chronic pain in a format that is easy to use, and it works! I’m a believer!"
―Jo Ann Gillaspy, MS, RN, editor of The Nephrology Resource Directory

"Properly used, the information in the Davies’s book should enable many people with myofascial trigger point disorders to participate effectively in treating their conditions. The book should be especially useful to those who do not have ready access to a practitioner familiar with the diagnosis and treatment of these common muscular problems."
―Michael D. Reynolds, MD, rheumatologist