Trigger points are a common cause of nagging neck pain, a common medical problem affecting millions of people. While stretching, lifestyle changes and physical therapy may help relieve pain, at least temporarily, many people need a more targeted treatment — and that’s where trigger point injections can help.
At Powell Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Thomas E. Powell, MD, and his team use trigger point injections to relieve painful muscle knots and surrounding inflammation. Here, learn why trigger points happen and why trigger point injections are so effective in treating them.
Trigger points are small, tight knots that form in muscle tissue, typically in your neck, upper back, and other areas subjected to repetitive stress and strain. When pressed, these knots feel like tender, sore bumps or lumps under your skin.
The neck is especially prone to trigger points thanks to its role in supporting your head and facilitating its movement. Injury can cause trigger points, too, and so can poor posture and daily habits, like spending hours bent over a phone or computer keyboard.
Emotional stress can also cause trigger points, especially when stress is persistent or chronic. In fact, trigger points caused by chronic stress can increase your risk of painful tension headaches, too.
Trigger points can be active or latent, depending on when they cause discomfort. Both types of trigger points can cause localized pain and tenderness, as well as referred pain in other parts of your body, like your shoulders, back, or head. Trigger points also alter the way your muscles work, leading to stiffness and reduced range of motion in your neck or shoulders.
Trigger point injections deliver pain-blocking anesthetics directly to the stiff, sore muscle knot. In addition to anesthetics, many injections also frequently include corticosteroids to help relieve inflammation and swelling in the muscle fibers, improving not only comfort but mobility, as well.
Typically, trigger point injections are recommended when other treatments, like physical therapy or deep massage, fail to provide long-term relief. But they’re also often prescribed alongside physical therapy to enhance results.
Injections are administered on an outpatient basis, and afterward, there’s no downtime. While you might have some mild, temporary swelling in the injection site after treatment, this effect resolves soon afterward, and most people report rapid relief of painful trigger point symptoms. In addition to relieving pain at the site of the knot, injections help prevent “side effects” like referred pain leading to reduced mobility, poor sleep, and painful headaches.
Trigger point injections can also reduce or eliminate the need for pain medications that can often lead to gastrointestinal upset, sleep issues, or other problems. Perhaps best of all, injections can last for months, and they can be repeated as needed to prolong their benefits.
Don’t let chronic neck pain take a toll on your mobility, your comfort, or your quality of life. As part of a personalized pain management strategy, trigger point injections can help you finally find and maintain the relief you’ve been looking for.
To learn more about trigger point injections, request an appointment online or over the phone with Powell Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, today.
