Trigger Point Map
Trigger Point Map is a Modern / Somatic manual therapy — Travell myofascial trigger points body system as transmitted through the lineage The Travell and Simons trigger-point system catalogues palpable myofascial trigger points, referred-pain patterns, and examination procedures for named muscles. Its regional charts are clinical reference material rather than a single symbolic body map; this front-view synthesis selects representative loci and does not reproduce every muscle or referral pattern.. This page lists every point in the system with sourced placements and links to cross-tradition correspondences curated for The Body Spiritual.
Open in interactive explorerPrimary sources
- Janet G. Travell and David G. Simons, Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual (2nd ed., Williams & Wilkins, 1999, Volumes 1–2) — The two-volume manual documents named-muscle trigger points, palpation landmarks, and referred-pain patterns; see Volume 1 regional muscle chapters (head, neck, shoulder girdle, and trunk) and Volume 2 chapters for the lower extremity. It supports the selected muscle loci, but not this reduced front-view coordinate layout.
Known lineage variants
- Travell and Simons present a detailed clinical reference system in which trigger-point location, taut bands, referral patterns, and examination depend on the named muscle and patient presentation. Training editions and later clinical summaries may differ in terminology, landmark detail, and the number of points displayed.
- This map selects fourteen representative bilateral loci from the manual's regional material. It is not a complete trigger-point inventory, and an orb or point is not a diagnosis, a guarantee of referred pain, or proof that pressure at that coordinate treats pain.
- Several selected muscles lie on the posterior or posterolateral body. They are projected onto the front-view silhouette so the corpus can display one consistent view; their uncertainty radii are widened to mark that editorial projection rather than textual anatomical evidence.
- The channels connect neighbouring muscle loci as visual regional groupings only. They are not nerves, fascial chains, meridians, or validated pain pathways, and the map does not claim that all points in a group share one mechanism.
- The overlay is an iconic attention aid for locating the selected regions. Anatomical-right follows the corpus convention x < 0.5; clinical interpretation requires qualified assessment and the source's full examination context.
Related systems
No other systems share this tradition label.
Points
- Right sternocleidomastoid locus — Neck muscle reference point
- Left sternocleidomastoid locus — Neck muscle reference point
- Right upper trapezius locus — Shoulder-girdle muscle reference point
- Left upper trapezius locus — Shoulder-girdle muscle reference point
- Right levator scapulae locus — Posterolateral neck and scapular projection
- Left levator scapulae locus — Posterolateral neck and scapular projection
- Right infraspinatus locus — Posterior shoulder projection
- Left infraspinatus locus — Posterior shoulder projection
- Right quadratus lumborum locus — Posterolateral lumbar projection
- Left quadratus lumborum locus — Posterolateral lumbar projection
- Right gluteus medius locus — Posterolateral hip projection
- Left gluteus medius locus — Posterolateral hip projection
- Right piriformis locus — Deep gluteal projection
- Left piriformis locus — Deep gluteal projection
Frequently asked
What is Right sternocleidomastoid locus?
This point marks a representative right sternocleidomastoid muscle locus on the side of the neck. It is a visual landmark drawn from the manual's named-muscle material, not a claim that every person has a trigger point at this exact coordinate.
What is Left sternocleidomastoid locus?
This point marks a representative left sternocleidomastoid muscle locus on the side of the neck. Bilateral display communicates the muscle's paired orientation but does not assert symmetry of symptoms or trigger-point status.
What is Right upper trapezius locus?
This point marks the right upper trapezius near the shoulder slope. The map uses one representative locus from a muscle with multiple possible trigger-point sites, so the point must not be read as an exhaustive muscle chart.
What is Left upper trapezius locus?
This point marks the left upper trapezius near the shoulder slope. It is a regional attention anchor, not a promise that pressure there will reproduce referred pain or improve a symptom.
What is Right levator scapulae locus?
This point represents a right levator scapulae locus at the neck–scapula transition. Because the muscle is largely posterior, the front-view placement is deliberately broad and carries more uncertainty than a superficial anterior landmark.
What is Left levator scapulae locus?
This point represents a left levator scapulae locus at the neck–scapula transition. Its bilateral position is a display convention and does not imply that findings, referral, or sensitivity must match on the two sides.
What is Right infraspinatus locus?
This point marks a right infraspinatus reference region on the posterior shoulder. The front-view silhouette cannot show the scapular surface directly, so the coordinate is a projection with a wide uncertainty radius rather than a surface treatment instruction.
What is Left infraspinatus locus?
This point marks a left infraspinatus reference region on the posterior shoulder. It is included to preserve a representative shoulder muscle from the manual, not to imply that a single orb captures all scapular trigger-point sites.
What is Right quadratus lumborum locus?
This point represents the right quadratus lumborum in the lateral lumbar region. Its broad placement signals a deep posterior muscle and should not be used as a self-diagnosis or as a claim about the source of low-back pain.
What is Left quadratus lumborum locus?
This point represents the left quadratus lumborum in the lateral lumbar region. Bilateral placement shows the paired muscle region while preserving uncertainty about the actual site and clinical significance of any tenderness.
What is Right gluteus medius locus?
This point marks a representative right gluteus medius region at the lateral hip. The projection preserves the selected muscle's place in the lower-body map but does not claim to locate every trigger point or referred-pain pattern.
What is Left gluteus medius locus?
This point marks a representative left gluteus medius region at the lateral hip. It is a map anchor for orientation only and does not establish that pain in the area has a myofascial cause.
What is Right piriformis locus?
This point projects the right piriformis region into the deep gluteal field. The large uncertainty radius marks both depth and posterior projection, and the point is not a diagnosis of sciatic or pelvic symptoms.
What is Left piriformis locus?
This point projects the left piriformis region into the deep gluteal field. It is included as a representative lower-body locus, not as a claim that a displayed orb can identify a nerve disorder or determine treatment.