Trigger Point Injections

What is a trigger point?

Sustained contraction in muscle fibers can form a taut band. A trigger point is a painful area within a taut band of a muscle. When an active trigger point is squeezed, it generates local and referred pain sensations. A latent trigger point is not painful spontaneously and does not produce referred pain when squeezed.

Why is trigger point injection performed?

Trigger point injection is performed to produce prolonged pain suppression in patients with myofascial pain. The reason you get pain suppression is due to neurologic inhibition secondary to an injection-induced micro-irritation/injury. Daily stretching along with trigger point injection is necessary to achieve the treatment effect. A few sessions of trigger point injections may be needed to achieve long term pain suppression.

Who should not get this treatment?

Trigger point injection should be avoided if the patient has:

Skin acne
Swelling of unknown origin
Unstable or high blood pressure

What are the risks of trigger point injections?

Risks of trigger point injection include:

Irritation of tissue that can in rare cases cause adverse focal skin reaction such as infection, swelling, bruising etc.
Increased spastic reaction of muscles
Stretching if done improperly, can cause joint irritation
Adverse drug interactions from the medication injected

References