PT professor publishes articles on pain-producing trigger points

Dr. Mohammad "Reza" Nourbakhsh, professor of physical therapy at the University of North Georgia (UNG), recently published a pair of articles about pain induced by muscular trigger points.

The first article addressed using dry needling potentially as a more long-term solution for headaches than pain medicine.

"Dry needling is much more effective because it deactivates the trigger points directly," Nourbakhsh said.

He explained physical therapists often focus on local joints as causes of pain. But his research shows it can be more effective to consider regional interdependence, or how one area of the body is affected by other parts.

"It's another way of looking at headaches and pursuing treatments that could help," Nourbakhsh said.

He also published an article examining the role of trigger points in chronic functional constipation. Nourbakhsh had multiple co-authors on both papers.

Nourbakhsh is the director of UNG's post-professional Doctor of Physical Therapy program, which provides advanced doctoral-level training for both national and foreign-educated physical therapists.