MedicineNet.com
MedicineNet home Picture Slideshows Diseases and conditions Symptoms and signs Procedures and tests Medications Health and Living Health news and views MedTerms medical dictionary
Font Size
A
A
A


The Cleveland Clinic

Pain Management: Trigger Point Injection

Trigger point injection (TPI) is a procedure used to treat painful areas of muscle that contain trigger points, or knots of muscle that form when muscles do not relax. Many times, such knots can be felt under the skin. Trigger points may irritate the nerves around them and cause referred pain, or pain that is felt in another part of the body.

What Happens During the Procedure?

In the TPI procedure, a health care professional inserts a small needle into the patients trigger point. The injection contains a local anesthetic that sometimes includes a corticosteroid . With the injection, the trigger point is made inactive and the pain is alleviated. Usually, a brief course of treatment will result in sustained relief. Injections are given in a doctors office and usually take just a few minutes. Several sites may be injected in one visit. If a patient has an allergy to a certain medication, a dry-needle technique (involving no medications) can be used.

When Is Trigger Point Injection Used?

TPI is used to treat many muscle groups, especially those in the arms, legs, lower back, and neck. In addition, TPI can be used to treat fibromyalgia and tension headaches. TPI also is used to alleviate myofascial pain syndrome (chronic pain involving tissue that surrounds muscle) that does not respond to other treatments. However, the effectiveness of TPI for treating myofascial pain is still under study.

Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic Westlake Family Health Center.
Edited by Cynthia Haines, MD, WebMD, August 2004.

Portions of this page © The Cleveland Clinic 2000-2005


Last Editorial Review: 3/28/2005




Printer-Friendly Format  |  Email to a Friend


Suggested Reading by Our Doctors
MedicineNet Doctors
  • simvastatin, Zocor - Read about the medication simvastatin (Zocor) a cholesterol- lowering drug used to inhibit the production of cholesterol by the liver. Article includes descriptions, uses, drug interactions, and side effects.
  • Fibromyalgia - Fibromyalgia (FMS) causes symptoms including fatigue and severe pain at tender points. Read about diagnosis, treatment information and medications such as Lyrica, Cymbalta.
  • Muscle Pain (Myofascial Pain Syndrome) - Read about myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome treatment, diagnosis, symptoms (trigger points, chronic pain) and causes (tissue injury).

Latest Medical News


Chronic Pain/Back Pain

Find tips and advances in treatment.




Symptoms & Signs A-Z List Pinpoint Your Symptoms - Start Now Symptoms & Signs A-Z List Symptoms & Signs by Female Body Region Symptoms & Signs by Male Body Region

Topics Related to Trigger Point Injection


Trigger Point Injection
RSS FeedSpecialty RSS       Add to My Yahoo! What is this?







Top 3
Trigger Point Injection Related Articles







Health categories:

Slideshows | Diseases & Conditions | Symptoms & Signs | Procedures & Tests | Medications | Health & Living | News & Views | Medical Dictionary

Popular health centers:

Allergies | Arthritis | Cancer | Diabetes | Digestion | Healthy Kids | Heart | Men's Health | Mental Health | Women's Health | More...

Publications:

ePublications (PDFs) | XML News via RSS | Audio Podcasts | Email Newsletters

MedicineNet.com:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Search Help | Site Map | WebMD® | Medscape® | eMedicine® | eMedicineHealth® | RxList®

This website is certified by Health On the Net Foundation. Click to verify. This site complies to the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.

©1996-2009 MedicineNet, Inc. All rights reserved. Notices and Legal Disclaimer.
MedicineNet does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.