Trigger points vs Hypertonic muscle

[da0092]

For the last 3 months I've been attempting self-massage using a wand, following the guidelines in A HEADACHE IN THE PELVIS and also the advice from my PTs. In that time I've also been under the care of 2 PTs, one UK based and one USA based (where I now live).

I keep hearing/reading about triggers points, that you definitely know when you're on them, and that they can cause 'out of the seat' pain. However both of my PTs have found that while I have significant hypertonic muscle all over my pelvic floor and there numerous areas to work on, there are very few areas that make me jump with pain. When they're working the areas I can feel that the muscle is extremely tight and sometimes it almost feels like it's vibrating when being worked on, but no epicentre of pain.

My question is... are these two things basically the same? Do other people find that they have significant areas of muscle tightness/shortened muscles, without there being 'trigger points' that are easily identifiable? I have great trust in the PTs who have worked with me, but not being able to find trigger points makes the internal work a bit harder to navigate.

[webslave]

Are these PTs experienced with internal work? Operator skill is very important in this field.

[da0092]

Yep they're both experienced.
One is Bill Taylor, and whilst I know there are some unfavourable accounts from past members, I know he has really helped a lot of people, and feel that he really helped me in the sessions we had.
The other is the director of the Arizona pelvic pain therapy group, who has been lecturing on and treating pelvic pain for over 20 years.

[webslave]

The answer is yes, you can have a tense pelvis (that via crosstalk is affecting nerves that end inside the pelvic organs e.g. prostate, bladder, urethra etc) without also having trigger points. You are on your way to trigger points, but have not developed them yet. That's good news.

[da0092]

Thanks webslave.
I posted this as a separate thread as I thought it may be an interesting question for many people, but please feel free to merge it with my original thread if you see appropriate.