A trigger point injection is a medical procedure that can help soothe muscle pain and is often recommended for fibromyalgia, tension headaches, and myofascial pain. If your doctor has recommended trigger point injections to help alleviate your pain, you may be wondering what to expect from this procedure. NJ Spine and Ortho is here to help you understand this process.
What Are Trigger Points?
Trigger points are highly sensitive, tight knots or bands of muscle or connective tissue that cause pain. They are most commonly found in the back, neck, and buttocks but can affect almost any body part. Those who suffer from trigger point pain can experience muscle spasms, weakness, and pain in other body parts, including eye pain and headaches or migraines.
Manual labor is a common cause of trigger points, but other contributors of painful trigger points include:
- Injury or trauma to a muscle
- Chronic muscle clenching
- Inactivity
- Repetitive motions
- Poor body mechanics, such as poor posture
- Sustained muscle overloading
- Psychological stress
- Insomnia
- Poor nutritional health
- Menopause or other hormonal issues
- Smoking
- Obesity
- Depression or other emotional disorders
There are two types of trigger points: active and latent. When a trigger point is active, it can cause pain even at rest. Latent trigger points, on the other hand, generally only cause pain with pressure.
What is a Trigger Point Injection?
During a trigger point injection procedure, a doctor inserts a small needle into a trigger point and injects a long-acting anesthetic or anti-inflammatory medicine. Injections to trigger points can relieve pain immediately and increase mobility for people with chronic muscle pain, but some people find that results take several days or weeks to appear. Although uncommon, some patients report that their pain does not improve after injections.
Trigger point injections are a minor medical procedure that can be repeated as needed to maintain pain relief. In a 2019 study investigating the effects of trigger point injections in people with abdominal muscle pain, some participants reported substantial pain reduction up to two years after their first injection.
What Should You Expect from Trigger Point Injections?
After lying down on a procedure table, your doctor will locate and clean your trigger point and then pinch it to keep it from sliding away. Then, they will insert the needle into your skin and inject the trigger point with the medicine. You may experience some twitching and discomfort when the needle is inserted into the trigger point. Those with extremely tense muscles may even feel a crunching or mild burning sensation. After the injection, your doctor will then stretch and massage the muscle and surrounding area.
Side effects of trigger point injections can include:
- Pain or tenderness around the injection site
- Numbness around the injection site
- Swelling around the injection site
- Discoloration or dimpling near the injection site
- Lightheadedness
- Dizziness
- Bleeding
If pain, numbness, and swelling around the injection site should wear off within a couple of hours. If your side effects worsen or do not disappear within a couple of weeks, contact your doctor. Trigger point injections rarely cause severe complications, but there is a risk of experiencing:
- Bruising
- Infection
- Muscle damage
- Nerve damage
- Lung collapse, caused by an accumulation of gas between the chest wall and lungs
- Myonecrosis, a severe form of muscle damage
- Allergic reaction
- Organ puncture
You can reduce your risk of experiencing complications by following your doctor’s instructions exactly and informing them of any concerns or allergies you may have.
Seek a Board-Certified Doctor for Minimally Invasive Spinal Treatment Options in New Jersey
If you are experiencing pain caused by knots or trigger points, our award-winning team of medical staff at NJ Spine & Orthopedic may be able to help you find relief. Give us a call today at (866) 272-9271 or complete a contact form to discover what minimally invasive treatment options offer for your pain relief.