Trigger points can be created when a muscle has been overworked or injured, and a little knot of muscle will develop causing pain in that general area. This knot of muscle forms when the muscle won’t relax. In many cases, you can physically feel the knot under the skin. Trigger points can cause continual pain and a lower quality of life. They can also cause referred pain that’s connected to different areas of the body due to the trigger point sitting on or near a nerve.
What Is a Trigger Point Injection?
When these trigger points are causing consistent, irritable pain, it may be time to start considering trigger point injections. When you come to our clinic, our expert practitioners will find the exact source of the trigger point where the injection should take place. This can be done by exerting gentle pressure to the trigger point to observe the muscle twitch. This can be done by hand or by special device. The injections are typically safe, low-dose steroid options and include local anesthetic. The steroid is going to reduce your inflammation and catalyze the healing of muscle tissue. The anesthetic is simply for providing pain relief.
Benefits
- Minimally invasive treatment for pain resulting in faster recovery time, lower risk of infection and other complications.
- Several trigger points can be injected in one visit.
- Treatment is done in one visit and typically only takes a few minutes.
- Trigger point injections are used to treat not only muscle groups but also conditions such as headaches.
The actual injection will feel like a pinch and will only take a few minutes. Post injection pain, while uncommon, can occur. It typically resolves itself within a few days. Once the inflammation is reduced, massage therapy and physiotherapy techniques help to eliminate the pain and rehabilitate the muscle fibers.
In chronic pain situations, it may necessary to have trigger point injections more regularly or on an as-needed basis. That said, here at Simpson Medical, we use a unique therapeutic approach for our trigger point treatment that is a tested treatment program for preventing any future trigger point inflammation. If you would like to learn more about trigger point injections, or schedule a consultation, give us a call and set-up an appointment today!