The day that I learned about the multifidi trigger points was a revelation for me. As a chiropractor, I had battled the transitory effectiveness of spinal manipulation for years. My patients would complain that the pain relief provided by my chiropractic treatment only lasted for about a half an hour.

In frustration, I asked other chiropractors if they had the same experience and they reported the same situation. Of course, most chiropractors use this treatment shortcoming as an excuse for over-scheduling their patients. Seeing patients 3-5 times a week may be good for their pocket book, but there is absolutely no clinical evidence that it’s an effective treatment protocol.

I wanted to know what was causing my patient’s articular dysfunctions to return so quickly after my treatment. What I discovered is that trigger points in some of the small intrinsic muscles of the spine were not only causing the articular dysfunctions, but they also produced a “boney” type of spine pain themselves.