Trigger Point Injections for Muscle Pain Relief in Tampa, FL
Find Relief from Chronic Muscle Pain with Our Expert Trigger Point Injections
What are trigger point injections?
A trigger point injection (TPI) can help relieve myofascial pain, which can be caused by a “knot” in your muscle (trigger point). Trigger point injections can help neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain, hip pain, knee pain and foot pain.
According to recent research (PMID: 19629211) 60-85% of pain is muscular in nature and would benefit from trigger point injections.
A trigger point injection involves treating your trigger points with a simple injection of a local anesthetic (lidocaine or procaine) and an all natural solution to help restore the function to your tight, over worked painful muscles.
What is a trigger point?
A trigger point is a muscle knot that can cause pain in a muscle or referred pain (pain you feel along very specific pathways). Trigger points develop from overuse, chronic strain and poor posture.
Imagine your muscles as a series of ropes and some of those ropes develop knots in them. These knots make the muscle tight and short, leading to changes in range of motion and pain. This pain will develop along specific sites that have been mapped out. The basis of trigger point injections comes from the work of Dr. Janet Travell, MD.
What are trigger point injections used for?
Trigger points can develop in any muscle and can cause pain anywhere on the body. The most common areas in your body that will develop trigger points are listed below.
- Upper Trapezius (top of your shoulders and into your neck)
- Piriformis (on your bottom and can mimic sciatica like pain)
- Quadratus Lumborum (QL) (part of your low back)
- Masseter (a muscle in your jaw).
- Levator scapulae (a muscle on the sides of your neck down to your shoulder blade).
- Gluteus medius (a muscle in your hip).
- Infraspinatus (a shoulder rotator cuff muscle)
- Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) (a muscle on the side and front of your neck)
- Suboccipital Muscles (back of your head / upper neck)
Trigger points are common causes of tension headaches, back pain, hip pain, and even mimic sciatica. A trigger point can cause pain, numbness, tingling and even muscle weakness both where the trigger point (muscle knot) and along referred pain pathways far away from the site of the trigger point.
What are the benefits of a trigger point injection?
Anyone dealing with pain that is muscular in nature (again muscle pain causes 60-85% of all pain). Trigger point injections are safe and effective when performed by a skilled and experienced practitioner who performs a thorough physical exam. The goal of the physical exam is to asses where your pain is located, your limitations in range of movement, and to attempt to re-create your pain by pressing on your trigger points.
How long do trigger point injections last?
Relief from a trigger point injection can often be immediate but the results generally are most noticeable 24 and 72 hours after the trigger point injection procedure. Pain relief will vary based on the nature of your trigger points, your overall health status and how long your pain has been present. In some people this can be days, weeks or even months.
Most people will need a series of injections to provide lasting relief.
Who needs to have a trigger point injection?
Anyone experiencing pain, especially if it hasn’t improved after having tried multiple treatment options such as over the counter medications (NSAIDs, Tylenol), massage therapy, stretching, icing, heat.
Areas that benefit from trigger point injections include:
- Muscle strains
- Tight Muscles
- Neck pain / headaches
- Shoulder Pain
- Tennis / Golfers Elbow
- Low back pain
- Hip Pain
- Knee Pain
- Foot Pain
What do I need to do to prepare for a trigger point injection?
There’s nothing you need to do to prepare for a trigger point injection. Dr. Hanson, DACM in Tampa, FL has performed thousands of trigger point injections and will walk you through what to expect during and after your trigger point injection to maximize your results.
What happens during a trigger point injection procedure?
The trigger point injection procedure is a quick, in office procedure that should take about 30 minutes. You will be able to drive yourself home after treatment.
You can expect the following during a trigger point injection procedure:
- Depending on the trigger point location, you may be sitting or laying down on an exam table.
- Dr. Hanson, DACM will cleanse your skin on the affected area with an alcohol pad.
- He will perform a thorough physical exam to assess your range of motion and what muscles have trigger points in them. Dr. Hanson may mark the trigger points with a skin marker.
- Dr. Hanson will insert a very thin needle attached to a syringe into the trigger point and and you might feel your muscle twitch or contract and then immediatly relax.
- Dr. Hanson will then inject an all natural solution containing a local anesthetic (procaine / lidocaine, an all natural anti-inflammatory compound called Traumeel, and B12) this will calm the trigger point pain down, relax your tight muscles and help to reduce inflammation and pain associated with your trigger point.
- After your trigger point injection in Tampa, FL you might feel sore like you worked out your muscles and that should calm down in 12-48 hours and you will feel better.
How painful is a trigger point injection?
Trigger points themselves can be painful to both the touch and to pressure. Trigger point injections are generally very tolerable but you will likely experience a dull ache and muscle soreness for a short period of time after treatment. For most patients who receive trigger point injections in Tampa, this discomfort is no worse than the pain they typically experience and the relief they receive is well worth it.
What should I expect after a trigger point injection?
Relief from your pain! As mentioned above, you might experience a bit of post treatment soreness but generally that is followed with significant relief from your pain and well worth it.
Who provides trigger point injections in Tampa, FL?
Dr. Josh Hanson, DACM at Hanson Complete Wellness, located at 1202 W. Linebaugh Ave, Tampa, FL 33612 has been providing trigger point injections for the last 10+ years and has performed thousands of procedures during this time.
How much do trigger point injections cost?
This will entirely depend on the number of areas we need to treat to target all contributing trigger points. Treatment cost for trigger point injections in Tampa, FL will range from $150-$300.
No insurance is required, we do not accept or bill any insurance. This is because if we were to accept insurance we would be working for an insurance company, and not you. They would dictate the number of muscles we could treat in a single visit and we would not be able to provide the high level of care we deliver.
Most providers who accept insurance are limited to only treating 3 muscle groups at a single time with trigger point injections. So we have consciously chosen to not allow someone else to tell us how to practice medicine.