Pain-Spasm-Pain Cycle
When there is pain the muscle reacts by going into spasm thinking it is protecting itself. This causes more ischemia, pain from the ischemia, and then more spasm. In order to break this cycle the muscle needs to be released and reset.
NMT (Neuromuscular Technique), PNF (Proprioceptor Neuromuscular Facilitation), and other reflexive treatments are facilitated and the cycle can be broken.