Trigger Point Injections

Trigger points are spots in your muscles that — when poked, pressed, or massaged — cause the whole muscle to react. A trigger point can send a ripple of pain through the muscle. Sometimes, that pain travels to other parts of your body. When this happens, it’s referred pain, and often there are no other symptoms where this pain ends up.

You can experience referred pain anywhere, but it commonly causes headaches, a condition called myofascial pain. A myofascial trigger point is a spot on a muscle that starts your headache. A myofascial trigger point injection is a shot of pain medication into the trigger point, causing your headache.

Visit our leading pain treatment specialist, Dr. Melepura, for best-in-class treatment options and to relieve your pain with trigger point injections. Emergency, same-day trigger point injections are available in NYC . Please contact our office for a consultation with the top pain relief specialist.

What Causes Trigger Points

Trigger points can develop in any muscle. While there are many factors involved, it’s believed they appear due to the following:

A muscle injury from exercise or sports
Trauma, such as a blow to the muscle
Inflammation that damages the muscle
A muscle that’s been stressed repeatedly

If you already suffer from a headache-related condition such as migraines or tension headaches, trigger point pain can worsen your headaches while prolonging your current condition. In that case, you’ll welcome a myofascial trigger point injection.

Its Symptoms Lead to Its Diagnosis

In addition to headaches, you can experience referred pain in other parts of your body, most commonly as:

Neck pain
Shoulder pain
Upper back pain
Middle back pain
Lower back pain

Your doctor asks you when your pain started and whether you suffered any injuries. After the medical history is completed, the next step toward a diagnosis is a physical exam. If no other symptoms are found, a trigger point is a likely cause.

A trigger point on a muscle feels like a knot, much harder than the surrounding tissue. When your physician presses on the spot, it should hurt not only on the muscle but also in the area where the referred pain has been an issue. If you’re getting headaches, a trigger point injection for migraines is a possible solution.

When You Need a Trigger Point Injection

Our pain management doctor may initially prescribe rest, over-the-counter pain relievers, and physical therapy to treat your condition. But if those treatments don’t have an immediate effect, especially if you’re suffering from severe or debilitating headaches, trigger point injections may be the next option. It puts pain medicine and anti-inflammatory drugs right at your trigger point.

A myofascial trigger point injection, delivered by the experienced hand of your physician, can neutralize your headache. If your referred pain has presented in your neck or back, a trigger point injection works just as well. Your pain after trigger point injections is significantly reduced. Please don’t wait to see our doctor when you’re in pain; get the pain relief you need.

Getting a Myofascial Trigger Point Injection

Trigger-point injections for migraines or other referred pain are done in our doctor’s office.

Once the diagnosis is confirmed, and your trigger point has been identified:

You’re asked to lie on an x-ray table, face-up or face-down, depending on your trigger point. A fluoroscope provides real-time x-ray images for your doctor.
The site of the injection is cleaned and disinfected. You may get a local anesthetic, too.
Your doctor uses fluoroscopic images to guide the needle where your trigger point injection has the greatest effect.
Once the needle is in position, the doctor releases the medication into the area. Multiple injection sites may be needed to cover the trigger point.

The medication injected is a mix of saline, anti-inflammatory steroids, and an anesthetic. The steroid works to reduce inflammation. The anesthetic blocks the pain signals from the trigger point, so you should immediately feel a decrease in pain. The steroids often take a couple of days to begin working, but pain relief from the myofascial trigger point injection should stop your headaches and the trigger point pain.

Locate an injury clinic offering rigger point injections near you to effectively break the cycle of escalating persistent pain caused by sensitive trigger points and manage accompanying muscle spasms and inflammation. Dr. Febin Melepura, MD, of the Sports Injury and Pain Institute in New York City, can treat you with trigger point injections right away in the office and get you back to your favorite activities in no time.

Moving Past Pain

There’s no downtime for this procedure. After the injection, you relax until the doctor clears you to leave. Your pain after trigger point injections is diminished. The injection site may feel temporarily numb or sore, but infection and bleeding are rare.

The effects of your trigger point injections last for several months. By that time, your trigger point should have relaxed and won’t bother you anymore. You can repeat the procedure if needed, but only once or twice, as steroid medication becomes detrimental if taken too often. One myofascial trigger point injection is completely safe and causes no significant side effects.

Febin Melepura, MD is a top rated, best in class interventional pain management doctor. He is a nationally recognized pain relief specialist and is among the top pain care doctors in New York City and the country. He is an award winning expert and contributor to a prominent media outlets.

Dr. Febin Melepura has been recognized for his thoughtful, thorough, modern approach to treating chronic pain and, among other accolades, has been named a “top pain management doctor in New York”, and one of “America’s Top Doctors™” for an advanced sports injury treatments.