What is a trigger point?

Trigger point therapy is a procedure used to treat painful areas of the muscle that contain trigger points or severe knots in the muscle that form when the muscles do not or cannot relax. The trigger points may cause irritation of the surrounding nerves and cause referred pain which is pain that is felt in other areas of the body.

What causes trigger points?

Trigger points can happen in a few different ways. Often, there are several contributing factors. Some possible causes include:

• Repetitive strain, including occupational and heavy exercise stress
• Traumatic injury
• Sedentary lifestyle with little-to-no physical movement
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Psychological stress, including depression and anxiety
• Inadequate sleep
• Poor posture
• Fibromyalgia

When you come to Elite Integrative Medical for trigger point treatment, the team assesses your health history and lifestyle to isolate the cause of your trigger points. In addition to relieving your pain, they’ll help you make changes to reduce trigger point recurrence.

What are trigger point injections?

A small needle is injected into the patient's trigger point and contains local anesthetic or saline and may include lidocaine, marcaine as well as traumeel or sarapin, which are natural pain relievers that are derived from plant sources.

Trigger points should be followed up with massage therapy and corrective exercises as well as chiropractic care.

How long will a trigger point injection stop pain?

Trigger point injections usually start working very fast, within a few hours in most cases. Then, you’ll typically have anywhere from a few days to a few months of relief.

How often do I need trigger point injections?

Generally because of the tenacity of the trigger points, a series of injections will be recommended depending on the condition and severity of a condition.

Need immediate trigger point pain relief? Call Elite Integrative Medical or go online to book your trigger point injections now.