The Upper Trapezius (upper trap) is often a major source of headache pain. It has several known pain referral areas such as the temporal region of the head and into the back of the neck. 

The Infraspinatus can refer pain down the arm and into your hand which can lead to numbness, tingling and can even cause weakness in your fingers. Your PT should be able to talk clearly and easily about the different pain patterns that this and other muscles create when deciding on a treatment plan.

The Quadratus Lumborum (QL) is a common culprit of chronic pain in the lower back. It's an ultra powerful and versatile muscle. This is actually why it is so often an area of focus when helping clients with their hip or back pain.

The Psoas Major can cause lower back, groin and hip pain. This muscle rests in it's shortened position when we are sitting. If you spend a lot of time in a desk chair and are experiencing groin or back symptoms, this could be the culprit.

The Gluteus Medius refers pain to the lower back, buttocks, and outer hips. This, and other hip muscles refer pain all the way down toward the lower leg and foot. Many times this pain is confused with symptoms of herniated discs or sciatic nerve compression. It's important that your PT knows the difference.

The Gluteus Minimus causes pain in the hip and down the leg. Glute muscles are powerful. They are the primary driver of all power and stability in our trunk. 'Glute min' referral pain can be felt primarily in the posterior thigh and often presents similarly to herniated disc. Make sure your PT can tell the difference.

The Sternocleidomastoid can lead to pain in the back of the head, forehead, and cheek. This is a big strong neck muscle and it is well known for its contributions in migraine headache patients as well as in those who sit still for long periods. This is among the most common headache muscles treated in PT with dry needling.

The Tensor Fasciae Latae refers pain down to the knee. This can make your lateral thigh and knee hurt quite a bit when we are dealing with trigger points. The TFL, as it's more commonly known, is a small muscle that attaches to a very large tendon called your Ilio tibial band (aka: the IT Band). This structure cannot be stretched or otherwise changed by outside force. The TFL muscle can be treated easily.

The Levator Scapulae cause pain along the shoulder and down the shoulder blade. This neck muscle assists the upper trapezius and several other cervical muscles with elevating the shoulder blade. Those of us stuck behind computers have met this muscle and have felt its fatigue in the base of our necks.

The Anterior Scalene is a common cause of neck, shoulder, scapula and arm pain. This is by far one of our favorite muscles to treat because of how effective the pain relief is. This muscle is missed a LOT. And only the most experienced and skilled PTs are comfortable needling it. Those of us taking part in overhead sports use this muscle a good bit to control the position of the upper ribs during rotation. This is also commonly treated in all manner of grappling or combat sport athletes as the anterior scalene is highly active, and can be injured, when the head and shoulders are used isometrically.