Struggling with Chronic Neck Pain? Discover the Fast-Acting Benefits of Trigger Point Injections

Chronic neck pain can do more than distract you. Your sleep, daily tasks, work, exercise, and hobbies can all suffer from the disruption neck pain causes. 

Muscle tension is often the source of neck pain and a primary reason myofascial trigger points form. You may know them as knots, points of tenderness or pain you can feel through your skin.

At Metro Anesthesia & Pain Management, we treat these knots with trigger point injections (TPIs). This minimally invasive technique may be the ideal addition to your chronic pain management plan. 

Today, we look at how trigger point injections break the cycle of chronic neck pain and help restore your quality of life. 

The fundamentals of TPIs

A myofascial trigger point represents a low-priority injury in your body, not serious enough to prompt your body’s repair systems, though it can still be a significant source of pain.

A TPI essentially elevates the priority of a knot, so your body resolves the tissue problems causing your symptoms.

Using a fine needle, we insert the tip into a myofascial knot to create controlled trauma that causes the body to act. Dry needling is the basic form of TPIs, but we typically inject anesthetic and corticosteroids to relieve pain and help reduce tissue inflammation.

The fast-acting benefits of a TPI

With powerful medications delivered to the origin of your pain symptoms, a trigger point injection targets the source of your pain. Most patients enjoy near-immediate relief after their treatment. TPI benefits include: 

Targeted relief

Treating the area where the pain originates breaks the cycle of muscle tension that contributes to trigger point formation. Reduced local inflammation and nerve irritation combine to ease the pain you experienced before treatment.

Improved mobility

Stiffness and reduced mobility commonly accompany trigger point pain. A TPI helps relax tight muscles, and increased comfort and mobility help you use physical therapy and exercise to build muscle strength to prevent future occurrences.

Minimally invasive

TPIs are minor injections, similar to an allergy shot or blood draw. There’s a small risk of infection, but a trigger point injection is a safe procedure with little potential for side effects.

Treatment compatibility

Comprehensive pain management plans are often the most successful, since they attack pain from multiple angles. TPIs can be added to most plans as a complementary treatment that’s unlikely to interact with other therapies. 

Improved mobility helps you perform better with physical therapy and targeted exercise. Your dependence on pain medication can be reduced. 

The process starts with an examination at Metro Anesthesia & Pain Management in West Des Moines or Des Moines, Iowa. Call or click to schedule an appointment today.