Trigger Point Injections

Trigger points form from knotted soft tissue fibers in your muscles. Mohamed Hablas, DPT, and the experienced team at Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood in New York City use trigger point injections to relax the tightened area. They inject a steroid and/or local anesthetic that relieves pain and eases inflammation. Call the office today or book an appointment online to learn more about the benefits of trigger point injections.

What are trigger point injections?

Trigger point injections treat chronic muscle pain related to irritated or inflamed myofascial trigger points. These trigger points are hyperirritable spots located in tightly stretched muscle bands (fascia).

Trigger points often develop in people affected by chronic musculoskeletal disorders. They’re typically painful when pressed on directly, during muscle contractions, and when stretching the affected muscle.

Trigger point injections deliver medications to these painful spots. The injections are usually a local anesthetic like lidocaine to block pain receptors in your muscles and a corticosteroid to reduce inflammation affecting the tissues surrounding a nerve. Trigger point injections may contain one or both of these drugs, depending on a patient’s requirements.

Dry needling also acts on trigger points but doesn’t involve injecting medication. Instead, the needle eases tension in the knotted muscle fibers.

What conditions do trigger point injections treat?

Trigger point injections can help with various musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, including:

• Sports injuries
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Lower back pain
• Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS)
• Osteoarthritis
• Sciatica
• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain or syndrome
• Migraines and tension headaches
• Auto accident injuries

Trigger point injections are usually one element of a comprehensive treatment program the Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC team designs for you.

What benefits do trigger point injections offer?

Trigger point injections offer numerous benefits to anyone suffering from intense pain at specific places in their muscles. They can help soothe and relieve muscle pain and provide other benefits, such as:

• Calming nerve irritation
• Relaxing muscle spasms
• Improving range of motion
• Increasing strength
• Enhancing flexibility
• Restoring function

Trigger point injections also reduce referred pain, which is pain you feel in areas seemingly unconnected to the original site.

What happens when I have a trigger point injection?

For your trigger point injection at Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC, you sit or lie down and relax. Your therapist presses on the muscles in the affected area to identify each trigger point’s precise location.

Next, they inject the local anesthetic or anesthetic and steroid mix into the trigger point’s center. The process shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to complete, and it rarely causes significant discomfort.

After your trigger point injection, you can use the area freely. There’s no downtime or recovery period to worry about, so you can return to work the next day. However, your provider may recommend avoiding energetic activities for the next few days.

Call Outreach Manual Physical Therapy PC today or book an appointment online to see how trigger point injections could help you.