My neurologists has suggested that i go to PT again for neck massage and release techniques-whatever that is. she referred me to the pain clinic and increased my cymbalta to 120mg/day. after i finish PT she wants me to start triggerpoint injections bi-weekly. the only problem is that this would be multiple shots at the same time and im not too sure if im comfortable with this because i know some would be in my neck. have anyone had this done? also what are they going to do at the pain clinic for my knees back neck and headaches if the meds that i have doesnt always work? im already on 4 meds-BACLOFEN KLONOPIN TYLENOL 3 and my PCP dr wants me on savella but she's fighting with my insurance to get it for me. HELP!!!!!!!
hi,
i have had them and also steroid injections and ablations to spine and obturator. i get total relief for days with trigger pt. injections and months with steroids and ablations.
they hook me up to an i.v. give me twilight anesthesia and i seldom remember a thing. i have had injections in my neck, again, loopy on t.a. don't remember a thing. one time my doc was going to do trigger pt without anestheisa, i said no way girl. she got me dopey. giggle. i hear it's not that bad but i am a woosy and don't want to find out. giggle.
pt and massage are a great idea. go for it.
please remember you can say no to any med your doc suggests. if in doubt, ask for your doc to do a bit more thinking on it. look things up and decide for yourself if you want the drug in your body.
peace,
blue
My injections were always with cortisone. The first time in a new area was always helpful, then less and less successful, and the last time resulted in disastrous pain. As the needle came out, the dr put in a numbing agent. After that wore off, boy what a surprise.
I did research and came across an article about a study on cortisone and tennis elbow. The cortisone treated patients took longer to recover than the PT treated patients. It referenced an article in the journal The Lancet which is said to reference 4 dozen studies of cortisone with the same bad results. What I have read is that cortisone crystalizes, and causes little tears in tissues.
I have read about people having success with injections of things like lidocaine.
Recectly one person posted somewhere how very pleased she was with the result. Time of effectiveness varies from patient to patient.
My trick to successfully facing injections, is to put the concerns out of your mind everytime they come up. Don't think about it until the moment the needle goes in. You CAN be that disciplined.
There is something called "catastrophising". Anticipating that something will be painful is proven to make it more painful. Don't do it. Why should you go through it over and over in your mind? I am telling you honestly, forgetting about it puprosefully works. you will begin to see how good you are at that, and how well you can handle injections. A moment. That's all an injection takes. if you add up all of your moments of fibro pain, you'll see you are more than capable of dealing with injections. One is voluntary and the others are not. Think about your breathing. In-- relaxation, out with stress.
The shots hurt very much at first, and the first few times it takes days before they stop, but the spasm is broken so I've had quite a bit of relief for at least 2 weeks at a time. But the trigger point injections do not treat the "tender points." They treat trigger points, which are exceedingly tight bands of fascia and muscle cells. Problem is, they come back unless you continue to break them up. I have a "theracane" and it is awesome. I assume the PT release technique will be spray and stretch. You CANNOT stretch a muscle with an active trigger point, it will only make the trigger point tighter after the initial relief. A PT can spray a cooling agent with lidocaine in it before stretching the muscle with the trigger point. The trigger point injections can help keep the trigger point "latent" once it is released.
My last round of shots hurt during the injection but I haven't had the post-injection pain.
It's better to start with just a few trigger points first. I do know one person who has up to 60 at a time, my personal limit so far has been 12. All over my neck and shoulders.
I have many many trigger points. I do stretching and self-massage every day, and get professional massages as often as I can afford. But sometimes they get so stuck, the only thing that'll release them is an injection. When the needle hits the hard spot in just the right way, my back feels better for MONTHS.
The injections themselves are not bad. Sometimes I feel almost nothing as the trigger point releases. Sometimes it doesn't hurt, but it just feels weird, a sensation of heat, or cold, or a muscle jumping as it releases. Sometimes it does hurt, but just for a moment. Every doctor who's injected me puts a little bit of lidocaine in the needle, so if there is pain, the lidocaine relieves it within seconds.
Afterward, I tend to feel very relaxed, sometimes even giggly. The next day, I might be sore, although ice helps, and the soreness passes after a couple days.
I've JUST found a new doctor. She's a physiatrist, and she's the best I've ever seen at giving trigger point injections. Palpate and stick, palpate and stick, all with a fine-gauge needle and a drop of lidocaine in each one. I had no pain worth mentioning during, though I was sore today. Next week, we're going to do another area.
Last doctor I saw was AWFUL at it. He didn't hurt me, he just completely failed to help! Citing the need to prevent infection, he never palpated at all, just grabbed the needle and stuck it in somewhere vaguely close to the area I'd indicated. He actually hit one trigger point, but I think that was just luck. And he'd only give me like 2 at a time and then make me wait months for more.
