Muscles
Palmaris Longus Trigger Points
Symptom Area: Forearm and Hand
Palmaris Longus Trigger Points are explored here through their location and referred pain pattern. Muscle knots is an everyday term used for tender muscular spots; myofascial pain describes pain involving muscle and its surrounding connective tissue. Superficial forearm flexor (absent in some people); trigger points cause a distinctive prickling or burning pain in the palm.
Where you feel it
When the Palmaris Longus holds active trigger points, you usually notice it as volar forearm pain. Where the pain spreads: A superficial prickling, needle-like or burning pain in the palm, sometimes into the base of the fingers. What often sets it off: Repetitive gripping, tool and shovel work, sustained hand clenching, racquet sports; also associated with palmar fascia tightness.
Overview
Palmaris longus runs from the medial epicondyle to the palmar aponeurosis and tenses the palmar fascia during grip. It is absent in a proportion of the population. Its trigger points produce a surface-level pain in the palm rather than deep aching.
Trigger point locations
A point in the muscle belly in the upper third of the anterior forearm, along the midline.
Referred pain pattern
A superficial prickling, needle-like or burning pain in the palm, sometimes into the base of the fingers.
Palpation & testing
With the forearm supinated, palpate along the midline of the proximal forearm; cupping the palm and opposing the thumb and little finger makes the tendon and belly stand out.
Common causes
Repetitive gripping, tool and shovel work, sustained hand clenching, racquet sports; also associated with palmar fascia tightness.
Self-care & clinical treatment
Forearm flexor stretching, palm and forearm self-massage, grip load management. Clinically: manual release and needling; check for Dupuytren-related palmar fascia changes when the palm feels thickened.
Treatment protocol
For Palmaris Longus, the general protocol applies: sustained pressure release on the taut band, then stretch and active movement in the newly gained range.
Position and palpation: With the forearm supinated, palpate along the midline of the proximal forearm; cupping the palm and opposing the thumb and little finger makes the tendon and belly stand out.
Regional precaution for clinicians: In the forearm and hand the median nerve at the pronator teres, the ulnar nerve at the cubital tunnel and Guyon's canal, the radial nerve in the supinator arcade and the radial artery at the wrist are all superficial and must be avoided; needles are short and angled away from the neurovascular bundles.
Primary Symptoms
Secondary Symptoms
Often confused with
These muscles cause the same primary symptoms, so they are checked together:
Related muscles in this region
References
- • triggerpoints.net — reference
Medically reviewed by: Marco Aruffo — physiotherapist since 2006, specialised in myofascial pain · Last reviewed:
