Strengthening after trigger point therapy (injection and dry needling)
I am being treated for myofascial pain syndrome and whiplash. The daily exercises I perform are neck flexor head lifts, shrugs, rows, shoulder press, rotator cuff rotation, bench press, chest flys, band scapular retraction, and band face pulls, all with light weights. I will probably return to a normal weight lifting routine in a week or two. Is there any rule of thumb on performing strengthening exercises after trigger point therapy?
The muscles affected are traps, levator scapula, lats, serratus anterior and posterior, deltoids, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, rhomboids, deltoids, and pecs. A year ago, my upper back was greatly inflamed with trigger points to the point where my skin felt like a brick wall, I lost about an inch of height from scoliosis, and I had neuralgia in my left hand. Now I just have the trigger point nodules, still very painful. Currently I am making good progress towards normality with trigger point injections (lidocaine) and dry needling / intramuscular stimulation (kinetacore method).
I was told to perform exercises during the window of time post therapy where the muscle was reset and the knots/trigger points are minimal, so I usually wait 6 hours and do my exercises with very light weights, then the following day use normal weights (also light). My personal theory is that performing exercises with good form after the treatment will encourage the trigger point to stay released.
Any suggestions on how long should I wait to perform exercises and how much load?