Myofascial pain is probably the most common diagnosis given to whiplash and whiplash associated disorder patients.  In essence, it means muscle pain.  In the first 3 months of whiplash, most of the symptoms are generated by injury to the muscles.  However, as patients get more chronic (still have pain after 3 months), the muscle pain becomes a symptom of other problems like loss of cervical lordosis, postural abnormalities, and ligament damage.  While it's true that muscles hurt when pressed and can have trigger points, most of the time the muscle problems are being caused by a deeper, more significant injury.   If you still have pain and problems after 3 months, you should seek a specific diagnosis.  For instance, your upper trapezius muscles might hurt causing pain across your neck to the shoulders, they may even have trigger points that cause headaches, but why is this still the case after enough time has passed for the muscles to heal themselves?   If you still have a diagnosis of myofascial pain after 3 months, here are some things to consider...