Trigger point injections are pretty easy. The worst is possibly some swelling which an ice pack will help. It's pretty similar to getting a flu shot or other injection. The pain comes from the pressure of the fluid under your skin. Rubbing and ice will help if you are sensitive.

Which part of the body?

for some they cause a good deal of pain, for a few days, they may or may not work, be sure to look into the number they would like to do as the number of shots per area a yr are different most say 3 some say 1, also the area of the body ect...

sadly there are stories of them doing them in the wrong spot, or far too many, we have to be our best advocate

do your homework and make sure your doing the best treatment for you, none of this meant to turn you off to them again they do work for some I think going in with all the knowledge you can is a great and I'm so happy to see that you are doing your homework on the treatment before hand just wanted to throw out some other factors as well

good luck and let us know how it goes
tori

I need these almost monthly. But my situation is complicated. Fir some patients in the PM office I go, they get a minimal number of injections which can be done by experienced PAs. I am NOT that patient. Mine must be done by the dr himself and the series can be a grand total of 12-16 injections plus dry-needling. The dry needling technique addresses the worst spasms and I'm steroid sensitive so that's a factor. For me, TrPs do not equate to a flu shot. But I don't want to scare you. I'm a complicated case. The TrPs are not as difficult as SI and ESI. But for me, a set of TrPs means ice, rest, reduced activity, and bc of hyperalgia, wearing shirts inside out :0 BUT the alternative is out-of-control spasm that besides being painful, also wreak havoc with other spine issues and that would mean worse pain, more nerve pain, even the ability to wash my hair or hold up my head (literally). So my advice is weigh the risk/benefit and go to an experienced practioner who knows ur case. I was scared the first time too (heck it's always a little anxiety-provoking even after years!!!). But I trusted my dr more than my fear. But that isn't always easy to do depending on the dr :0 Good luck - you will get thru this! - and feel free to ask if you have anymore questions. I hope the procedure helps whatever ails you!

hope it helps hugs minnie

helped me a great deal I had trigger point at some point with botux . that was the best . not sure that would qualify 4 the best thing . it actually freezes the muscle .. hope u get great results ... try to not b nervous and try to relax and go with it . I cant imagine u feeling worse if the dr . is agreeing to the injections .. extra good luck .. warmly , starsunshine

You could tell the person giving you the injections to make sure they get the right spots to help you or don't bother stabbing you to begin with..you're already in enough pain :P good luck

I ended up getting somewhere around 12 or so injections in the leg - really hard to track! - three of which were something she called "prolotherapy" in the ligament just below and to the inside of my knew, since she thinks that it looks like it's breaking down and that will help build it back up.

Those 3 were excruciating - I'm really glad I had my husband come in with me as a distraction. The PMD thanked him for coming, said she's glad he was there too.

I also got maybe 12 or so injections in the right shoulder and along the shoulder blade. The muscles were really tight so she had to use a lot of pressure to get the needle in and to get the meds to inject. Apparently the needle was bending

All in all the major pain receded pretty quickly. Unfortunately my knee and leg are still somewhat achey, but maybe not as bad as usual. I still am feeling a lot of pressure in my shoulder and some pain. The muscle at the top of my shoulder is flattened out, usually it's really hard and rounded, so I'm guessing that the muscle is relaxing and right now I'm just feeling the effects of the shots. The PMD did say I would probably feel beat up for a day or two.

Thanks everyone for your responses, btw! I really appreciate the time you all take to share experiences and to extend your support.

I had a good response to the trigger point injections. Like someone else said they were not too bad. For me it was a big poke and then a little pressure and all done and just a bit of ice the day that I got home.

I hope that all goes well for you too Cindi

glad it went alright never heard of someone getting that many at once what a blessing it went alright glad your getting so benefits already

hugs
tori

It's actually pretty common to get a large number of injections at one time. They only use a small amount of the drug in each spot. Since you are numbing the tissue they want to spread it around. Usually they will only do a series 3 times a year, but there are exceptions.

Do some reading on Prolo therapy. It's a very controversial procedure. The last I read up on it there was no evidence that it worked. The basic theory is that your aggravate the body by injecting inert fluid and the bodies natural defenses will kick in and start the healing process. Most insurance does not pay for this type of therapy since it is still experimental.

Hope you continue to get relief.

I'm glad you got thru the injections - I hope you find relief. I'm surprised they did not explain prolotherapy in advance; Tigg is correct that many insurers (and Medicare) will not cover that procedure. Did the dr use multiple needles? I'm just curious bc from what I understand prolotherapy injects an irritant, often a type of sodium, while TrPs generally use a form of steroid and/or lidocaine. Dealing with leathery spasm requires proper needle size and good technique. The number of injections seems normal based on multiple sites. Anyway, you can breath that sigh of relief now :) And kudos for staying strong. Here's hoping relief is quick and long-lived. Take care!

You're right about the prolotherapy - I did some reading after the fact, and there are definitely mixed reviews. She did ultrasound all the areas where my pain was the worst, and said that she didn't think the TPI's in the leg would be of much benefit without trying the prolotherapy on the ligament. This all happened on the fly, because we didn't do an ultrasound prior to the appointment - apparently it looked like there was some kind of fluid build up between the muscle layers?

Anyway, she did use separate needles, and it was definitely a different experience - those three injections were a larger needle and were incredibly painful while the TPI's were moderately so. She said she was just going to bill it all as TPI's because the insurance companies don't like the prolotherapy.

there is nothing wrong with getting as much information as you can about any type of treatment. I did some research, found a few articles and found this one

http://www.aaomed.org/Prolotherapy-FAQs

Best of luck to you.

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