Trigger Point Therapy is not for the faint-hearted. It's uncomfortable, painful... and I can't get enough of it!

As the name suggests, it is a treatment that gets to the root cause, the trigger point of pain and relieves it through applying finger pressure for several seconds.

Stefano Manassero, an Italian therapist of almost 20 years, is a specialist.

"Trigger points are hyper-irritable spots," says Stefano, "tiny tender nodules found in a taut band of muscle fibres. Not only do they affect the muscle in which they are located, but they also cause a referred pain elsewhere.

"When no cause can be found for a pain, very often that pain is being activated by an undetected trigger point which, if left undiagnosed, can lead to serious problems," he adds.

"To make things more complicated, trigger points can mimic other syndromes such as sciatica, in which case the trigger point is usually located in the piriformis somewhere deep in the gluteal area and the referral pain goes shooting down the leg."

At the mention of sciatica, I'm all ears. As a four or five-year-old, I fell off a climbing frame into the splits and could not walk for six months.

As a result, my circulation in the area is poor. I'm prone to stiffness in my hips and parts of my bottom are tender to the touch. I'd resigned myself to there being no solutions as nothing has provided lasting relief.

But that was before Stefano and the weapons he has for hands. It's no coincidence that Ralph Fiennes, Kevin Spacey and a host of stars have found their way to his plinth.

In his Lucan clinic, we run through a medical history including accidents and injuries before he assesses my posture and movement.

Then I lie on my side beneath a warm towel, as Stefano begins to trace points along the outside on my leg.

Half way up the side of my thigh, he hits a point and presses. I flinch and hope he's going to move on. He does and hits another sensitive point and when he hits the next one, I go through the roof. The last one is the trigger point and despite breathing deeply on his guidance, I'm temporarily lightheaded.

The pain shoots off elsewhere as he applies finger pressure for 10 seconds, then releases and repeats it in a pumping action.

This procedure flushes the toxins and calms the nerves. All I know is that when he is done with the area, it is less sensitive. The same happens on the other leg. When it comes to the remnants of my accident decades ago, his work deep into the gluts on both sides is excruciating, but within seconds is over. Then he tackles my neck which has sustained two whiplash injuries.

Within minutes of Stefano pressing points in my face, I've fallen into a gentle sleep. As well the toxic waste build-up being released, so too are endorphins, apparently.

"When a muscle is injured, it is often deprived of healthy circulation and waste products accumulate," he says.

"The application of deep pressure to that muscle causes 'ischemia' (no blood supply). Then after about 10 seconds, the pressure is released and fresh, oxygenated blood rushes to the area bringing with it nutrients. This results in the body undergoing soft tissue release, a reduction in muscle spasm and the break-up of scar-tissue."

In my case, it took a while to get the muscle with the state it was in and so will take more than one session to release it. After each of my three sessions so far, it feels far less tender to the touch and my hip movement is freer.

The verdict

Although painful, it's the kind I don't mind taking for the end result achieved. I found it to be instantly effective. The pain, in my case, was due to years of undealt with build-up in injured tissue creating active trigger points and wouldn't affect everyone in the same way. I highly recommend it.

A trigger point therapy session with Stefano Manassero costs €65. To make an appointment call 086 824 8468

- Naimh Cooper