A trigger point injection (TPI) can help relieve myofascial pain, which is usually caused by a "knot" in your muscle (trigger point). TPIs are common and generally safe.
Trigger points are painful “knots” in your muscles that can be very sensitive to touch/pressure. They may form after acute trauma or by repetitive micro-trauma, leading to stress on muscle fibers. It causes the muscle fibers to be stuck in a contracted state. Sometimes you can feel these knots when you rub your muscle.
Healthcare providers use trigger point injections to help treat myofascial pain. “Myo” means muscle and “fascial” means fascia. Your fascia is the thin, white connective tissue that’s wrapped around every muscle.
The pain and tenderness in myofascial pain are typically due to one or more trigger points. To the touch, trigger points feel like small bumps, nodules or knots in your muscle.
Trigger points can develop in any muscle, but the most common muscle groups that are treated with trigger point injections include:
Trigger points can cause certain types of pain or issues. For example, trigger points affecting your trapezius muscle may cause tension headaches. A trigger point affecting your piriformis muscle (a muscle in your buttocks) can cause piriformis syndrome — when the piriformis muscle presses on your sciatic nerve. It causes pain or numbness in your buttock and down the back of your leg.
A trigger point injection may be right for you if your trigger point pain has not improved with other treatments, including over-the-counter pain medication, heat therapy, massage therapy, myofascial release ad physical therapy.
Providers typically use trigger point injections alongside physical therapy and stretching exercises to alleviate the pain.
This strategy can be particularly beneficial when a trigger point injection is initially used to reduce pain in people who are unable to do physical therapy or stretching due to intense pain. The trigger point injection can allow physical therapy to be more effective.
Before your healthcare provider can recommend a trigger point injection, they’ll need to perform a thorough physical exam and rule out other possible causes of your pain, including: