Trigger Point Injections

These injections involve injecting a small amount of local anesthetic, sometimes along with a steroid medication, directly into painful trigger points. Trigger points are specific sites on the muscles that cause pain when your doctor presses on one during an exam.

How Does It Work?

Trigger points are painful “knots” in your muscles. They form when a muscle can’t relax. Sometimes you can feel these knots when you rub your muscle. Injecting small amounts of anesthetic and steroid into the trigger point can help alleviate the pain by treating the inflammation, pain and spasm in the soft tissue/muscle. You can have several trigger points injected during one visit to your doctor’s office. The procedure only takes a few minutes

Procedure

You will sit or lie down for the procedure. Your doctor will press on your muscle to locate the area where you have pain. Then, he or she will insert a small needle into the area and inject a mixture of anesthetic and steroid under ultrasound guidance.