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Treating Muscle Pain & Knots with Trigger Point Injections

Trigger point injections are intended to treat pain that radiates from a trigger point to a sensitive area in the muscle or connective tissue (fascia). Trigger points are painful “knots” in your muscles. They form when a muscle can’t relax. Sometimes you can feel these knots when you rub your muscle.

Trigger point injections inject a small amount of anesthetic and steroid into the trigger point to alleviate the pain. Trigger Point injections are also used to treat conditions such as myofascial pain syndrome or other chronic pain. After a trigger point injection, you can actively use your muscle. However, you should avoid strenuous activity for the first few days.

This outpatient procedure is designed to reduce or relieve the pain of trigger points. These small, tender knots can form in muscles or in the fascia (the soft, stretchy connective tissue that surrounds muscles and organs). The trigger point injection procedure takes only a few minutes to complete.

Common Questions about Trigger Point Injections

Trigger point injections are a low-risk, non-surgical tool to combat back and neck pain. As with any minimally invasive medical procedure, there are risks that you’ll want to discuss with your physician before treatment is administered. The potential side effects or risks are minor and occur infrequently:

  • Soreness and bruising where needle was injected
  • Potential infection at the injection point or the tissue
  • Pain relief immediately following the procedure
  • An allergic reaction to the medication

Trigger point injections are a non-surgical treatment option for back and neck pain. Injections can be useful both for providing pain relief and as a diagnostic tool to help identify the source of the patient’s back pain. You’ll want to speak with a SpineOne physician who specializes in spine-related disorders to decide what treatment options are the best fit for you.

A trigger point injection may be more effective than oral medication because it delivers medication directly to the cause of the pain. Depending on the severity of symptoms, this form of pain relief may be long-lasting or may be only temporary.

If the first injection does not help suppress the pain, a second one may be recommended. Most physicians will do a maximum of three-trigger-point injections over the course of six months.

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