If You’re in Pain, Consider Trigger Point Injections

Do you have ongoing muscle pain without a known cause (like an athletic injury)? Or maybe a hard muscle knot developed, and now you’re struggling with pain and limited movement. In both cases, a trigger point injection may be the solution needed to ease your pain.

Our experienced pain management team at Alliance Spine and Pain Centers specializes in a diverse range of advanced treatments. But for patients with muscle knots (trigger points), nothing works as rapidly or effectively as a trigger point injection.

About trigger points

A trigger point develops when a small group of muscle fibers tighten or spasm, causing a hard, painful bump (knot). 

Touching or pressing the trigger point causes pain and often leads to referred pain elsewhere in your body. Trigger points also restrict blood flow and limit nerve activity in the area. Many people also experience limited movement in the affected area.

Trigger points may occur in a muscle or the fascia. The fascia is a layer of connective tissue that surrounds and supports your muscles as well as your organs, blood vessels, nerves, and bones.

As it wraps around your muscles, the fascia provides stability and allows muscles to move without friction. The connective tissue also contains nerves. As a result, a trigger point in the fascia causes as much pain as one in a muscle.

Trigger points vs myofascial pain syndrome

Myofascial pain syndrome is a chronic muscle condition defined by:

• Trigger points (often more than one)
• Inflamed muscles or fascia
• Aching muscle pain
• Tender muscles
• Weak muscles
• Reduced range of motion

The trigger points associated with myofascial pain syndrome may cause pain without being touched or pressed. You could also have additional trigger points that temporarily go inactive and don’t cause discomfort.

When to consider a trigger point injection

A single trigger point may improve with massage therapy and exercises to stretch the muscle. However, it’s time to consider a trigger point injection if your pain doesn’t improve, worsens, or interferes with your sleep or activities.

The longer a trigger point lasts, the more pain you’ll likely experience. Without treatment, the tight muscle may pinch the nerves. Poor circulation in the area lets toxic wastes build up, contributing to muscle pain.

There’s no reason to put up with the discomfort. Trigger point injections are highly effective and quickly relieve your pain and other symptoms.

How trigger point injections work

When performing a trigger point injection, we insert the needle through your skin and into the muscle knot. Then, we inject a local anesthetic. Sometimes, we may mix a steroid with the anesthetic to reduce inflammation.

The anesthetic works quickly, easing pain and relaxing the muscle fibers. The needle also triggers the muscle’s twitch response, which is beneficial because it kick-starts the muscle’s natural ability to contract and relax.

We may recommend alternatives to a standard trigger point injection. If you don’t need the medications, we can perform dry needling, using a thin needle to relax the knot by activating the muscle twitch reaction.

After the injection, we apply a hot pack and ask you to gently stretch the muscle. Though you’ll need to avoid rigorous activities for a few days, following our recommended exercise regimen and moving the muscle is essential for maintaining relaxed fibers.

Find relief for trigger points

Muscle knots are so common that you may be tempted to ignore them and hope they improve. And your trigger point may relax without medical intervention. However, a trigger point injection only takes a few minutes to treat the muscle knot and alleviate your symptoms.

Call Alliance Spine and Pain Centers today to schedule an appointment and learn if a trigger point injection is the treatment you need. You can also complete the online form to request an appointment at the nearest of our 20+ locations.