In simplest terms, chronic myofascial pain means muscle pain. “Myo” means “muscle,” so literally CMP is pain in the soft fascia tissue that surrounds the muscles. The pain is created by trigger points that form within the layers of the fascia. Many conditions, including stress and surgery, can cause trigger points, but nail techs are at risk because of at least two factors: repetitive motion and poor posture.

Trigger points feel like knots or bumps on the muscles; however, the feeling of pain will not necessarily be at the location of the trigger point. This is known as referred pain, and is often the cause of misdiagnosis.