Acknowledgements

Approximately 38% of the human population is in pain at any given time. Although 30% of patients seen in a general physician’s practice are there due to pain caused by trigger points,¹ there is still very little emphasis in medical school on muscle pain and trigger points. Thankfully, there are a few pioneers who worked endlessly to research trigger points, document referral patterns and other symptoms, and bring that information to medical practitioners and the general public.

This website would not have been possible without the life works of Dr. Janet Travell and Dr. David Simons, and my Neuromuscular Therapy instructor, Jeanne Aland, who introduced me to the books written by Dr.’s Travell and Simons.

Both Dr. Travell and Jeanne Aland have passed on, but I know that I and all my patients are eternally grateful for their hard work and dedication, and their work lives on through the hundreds of thousands of patients who have gotten relief because of their research and willingness to train others.

Dr. Janet Travell

Dr. Travell was born in 1901, and followed in her father’s footsteps to become a doctor. She initially specialized in cardiology but soon became interested in pain relief, as had her father. She joined her father’s practice, taught at Cornell University Medical College, and pioneered and researched new pain treatments, including trigger point injections. In her private practice, she began treating Senator John F. Kennedy, who at the time was using crutches due to crippling back pain, and almost unable to walk down three stairs. This was at a time when television was bringing images of politicians into the nation’s living rooms, and it had become important for presidential candidates to appear physically fit. Being on crutches probably would have cost President John F. Kennedy the election. Dr. Travell became the first female White House physician, and after President Kennedy died, she stayed on to treat President Johnson. She resigned a year and a half later to return to her passion for teaching, lecturing, and writing about chronic myofascial pain. She continued to work into her 90’s, and died at the age of 95 on August 1, 1997.

Dr. David G. Simons

Dr. Simons started out his career as an aerospace physician, and met Dr. Travell when she lectured at the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas in the 1960’s. He quickly teamed up with Dr. Travell. Dr. Simons began researching the international literature for any references to the treatment of pain, and discovered there were a few others out there who were also discovering trigger points, but using different terminology. He studied and documented the physiology of trigger points in both the laboratory and the clinic, and tried to find scientific explanations for trigger points. Dr. Simons passed away in 2010.

  Dr. Janet Travell and Dr. David G. Simons 1977.  Photo courtesy of Dr. David G Simons

Together, Doctors Travell and Simons produced a comprehensive two-volume text written for physicians on the causes and treatment of trigger points.² Much of the information contained in this book-on-CD is drawn from those texts.

Other Thanks:

I also owe thanks to my mother, Helen DeLaune, who instilled in me a great love for the outdoors and a respect for our planet, and a belief that I could be anything I wanted. Jim Mahan, the T.V. Station Manager for KTOO Public TV in Juneau, Alaska, arranged for rental and set-up of the studio for the video taping. Skip Gray was the videographer, who also helped direct me, keep my spirits up, and was creative in his filming. Brenda Greenbank helped model in the videos when I needed a second body. Art Sutch did the majority of the still photography, and David Ham was the male model for the referral patterns. Other models for some of the still photos were Megan Phillips, Patrick Ripp and Donnie Browning of Juneau Physical Therapy, and Dr. John Bursell and Anne Schwarting of Juneau Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation. Aaron Suring is my computer whiz at Lucid Reverie, who answered questions for me for a year as I was formulating the idea of putting a book-on-CD ROM, complete with videos, and then put it together once all the pieces were done. Also a thanks to my friends and patients who tested the prototypes for me and provided valuable suggestions. And an extra big thanks to my friends who supported and encouraged me, and didn’t see much of me in the last year as I threw myself into getting this project completed. You all helped make this possible.