Erector Spinae Vibration Release

Best Body Position:

• Lying in prone
• Child's pose also works well if the patient/client can comfortably maintain the position.

Bony Areas: (Block with a thumb or finger when approaching these areas)

• Spinous process
• Posterior iliac spine
• Sacrum

Muscles:

• The erector spinae and multifidus are superficial muscles on either side of the spine. Ask your patient/client to adjust their clothing to reveal the lumbar region of their back. (With a little practice this technique may be performed through clothing.) Identify the "valley" created at the spinous processes of the lumbar spine. The valley is created by the layers of fascia and skin being tightly bound together to the tips of the spinous process. The "hills" or "columns" of tissue are created by the mass of the multifidus and erector spinae filling the fascial sheaths on either side of the spinous process like long, tube-shaped balloons.
  • Common Trigger Points: Because the erector spinae and multifidus are segmentally innervated, trigger points may occur in any fascicle along their length. A very common multifidus trigger point occurs adjacent to the L4/L5 segment, just medial the PSIS. Common erector spinae trigger points seem to develop adjacent to the mid-lumbar spine and thoracolumbar junction, perhaps where these fascicles originate on the thoracolumbar fascia.