Am I a Good Candidate for Trigger Point Injections?

Tight bands of skeletal muscles contain myofascial trigger points, or focal knots across various parts of your body. The most active trigger points are in the neck, jaw, shoulders, upper arms, back, buttocks, hip, and legs. Pain in a focal knot can be unresponsive to ice, heat, and even muscle relaxers.

At Serenity Osteopathic, LLC in Satellite Beach, Florida, board-certified osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal doctor Tiffany Noblitt, DO, can identify irritated focal knots and deliver trigger point injections directly to the source of back, neck, shoulder, head, or facial pain. 

Causes of pain from focal knots

Focal knots are small, rigid areas in a band of muscle. When your muscle is irritated, inflamed, or injured, the band tightens, and a hard knot forms around the rigid part of the tissue. This area, also called a trigger point, can cause intense pain when you flex your muscle or press on the knot.

There are many potential causes of muscle knots:

• Small, repeated muscle tears
• Stress
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Joint problems
• Immobilization
• Dehydration
• Poor nutrition

A muscle knot in your upper arm can spasm when you lift your arm or clench your fist. One in your neck can cause extreme neck pain, facial pain, or even migraines. No matter what type of trigger point is causing you pain, we can help.

Trigger point injections

If other treatments haven’t worked or only help a little bit, Dr. Noblitt may recommend trigger point injections. This procedure only takes a few minutes and delivers medication directly into the trigger point, helping your muscle release and easing your pain and tension.

A trigger point injection typically involves a local anesthetic, sometimes combined with a corticosteroid. In select cases, other agents may be used based on your specific condition.

Are you a good candidate for trigger point injections?

Candidates for trigger point injections include patients who routinely struggle with pain and loss of mobility due to focal knots. Dr. Noblitt uses these injections to treat multiple types of musculoskeletal pain, including:

• Headaches and/or frequent migraine episodes
• Facial pain
• Cervical (upper spine) and neck pain
• Thoracic (middle spine) pain
• Lumbar (lower spine) pain
• Hip pain
• Shoulder pain
• Postsurgical pain
• Post-traumatic pain
• Sciatic pain

If you suffer from one or more of these issues, and pain medication and other treatments have failed to deliver relief, you may be a good candidate for trigger point injections.

To see if this treatment option can benefit you, contact Dr. Noblitt to schedule a consultation today.