Trigger Point Injections

What is a trigger point?

A trigger point is a knot of muscle tissue that won’t relax and leads to pain. Often you can feel such knots beneath your skin. The trigger point is often tender when you press on it and can radiate pain to nearby areas.

Trigger points are especially common in the upper back and behind your shoulders. Trigger points in these areas can cause pain in the neck, shoulders, and head.

How does a trigger point injection work?

The goal of a trigger point injection is to soothe painful knots and help your muscles relax. Trigger point injections help to break up the scar tissue formed by muscle contractions. During a trigger point injection, your provider at White Integrated Health Clinics presses on your muscle to locate the trigger point. Then, they insert a small needle into the area and inject a steroid, an anesthetic, or a mixture of both.

What conditions can a trigger point injection treat?

The team at White Integrated Health Clinics uses trigger point injections to relieve musculoskeletal pain caused by trigger points. They can also use this technique to treat conditions such as:

• Fibromyalgia
• Tension headaches
• Myofascial pain syndrome

However, it’s common for trigger points to recur in people with chronic pain conditions, such as myofascial pain syndrome, where pressure on a muscle trigger point can cause pain in seemingly unrelated areas of the body.

What should I expect from a trigger point injection?

First, your provider at White Integrated Health Clinics performs a physical exam and reviews your medical history to ensure trigger point injections are right for you. They might recommend trigger point injections if you have pain that doesn’t improve with other treatments, such as chiropractic adjustments or physical therapies.

During treatment, you sit or lie down while your provider presses on your muscle to locate the trigger points. The procedure only takes a few minutes, so they can treat multiple trigger points during the same appointment.

They insert the needle and deliver the necessary medication. Trigger point injections have a very low risk of complications, but you might experience some temporary soreness or numbness at the injection site.

To find out if you’re a good candidate for trigger point injections, call White Integrated Health Clinics or book an appointment online today.