Trigger Point Injection ?'s - Pain Management Message Board

mom2threekids · 05-07-2009, 08:04 AM

Hi all. I had 7 trigger point injections yesterday and was wondering if anyone has an experience with them. All of the injections were in my shoulders, or the trapezius muscles. I have so many hard knots back there and they never ever go away.

I feel so much better this morning. I don't feel like I need to take the muscle relaxers at all. How long does the relief last? Do these injections come in a series like the epidural injections do? At my doctor appointment yesterday I wasn't scheduled for any injections-she just decided to do them and she was very vauge as to how many more-if any-that I might need. She just said we will see how you do with these and we will see you in a month.

Do the trigger point injections 'fix' you or are they just for temporary relief? Does anyone have any advice?

Thank you so much in advance.

Amy

nancyjo · 05-07-2009, 06:58 PM

Hi Amy--

I'm glad the trigger point injections helped, but I imagine that getting seven of them was NOT fun! I only had one several months ago and it was horrible, but the relief was divine. I wish I could tell you how long that relief lasted, but the best I can come up with is that it tapers off over time; as I think about it, my neck/shoulders haven't turned rock hard and "frozen" until a week ago, so perhaps the injection had something to do with that.

I hope you continue to feel better!

nancyjo

mom2threekids · 05-08-2009, 10:10 AM

Yeah well I spoke too soon. Yesterday around 10:00 AM the spasms started back up. By 1:00 PM I took meds. By 5:00 PM I could no longer turn my neck. I woke up this morning almost crying. BLAH! What a tease! I felt so good for a few hours.

Yeah it did not feel great. I have lots of bruises on my shoulders now and the injection sites are tender and swollen. But it really wasn't that bad.

Back to the drawing boards.....I would do it again in a heartbeat though. The relief was AMAZING even if short lived.

Amy

trychocolate · 05-08-2009, 11:44 AM

I went to a muscle and nerve specialist this week and received the injections for an extreme neck. Instead of feeling completely stiff and sore, it turned to stiff and rubbery almost immediately. I know what you mean by it seeming pretty trippy at first. I think they can use different meds; mine was just some kind of novocane+ or something.

He said I was tightened up everywhere and is just trying this; said he can do this 3 more times and if tolerable, it gets switched over to botox for awhile, and then over to something else. So I guess we could say that trigger point injections are just the beginning.

That same day I had an ugly changed mole biopsied and the freezing wouldn't take so that dr. really had to use alot of novocane so he could 'punch' the mole. So by 5:00 that day I had so much novocane in my system, I was starting to get pretty (happily) ditzy. But it wore off soon after.

So in my case, which probably wouldn't seem like an honest answer because the other shots were nearby in the shoulder, it seemed to help for a few hours and then the pains became more sharp, isolated and (thankfully) momentary in the nerves. Because I expect almost anything to happen in my situation, this didn't surprise or disturb me any more than usual. Like you say, it is worth a try for a temporary fix/mobility and for experimentation. It won't fix my osteo, DDD, or cord and nerve compression, but is effective as a diversion from what really needs to be done.

I don't have a pain management program at this time, so I am glad that you had something you could take, although it doesn't look like it helped, and maybe even hindered the effect it should have had? It's almost like a dreadful withdrawal or something, isn't it? I am finding the effects what you could call 'cyclic' at this point. I have pain problems throughout the spine so maybe I could have used about 20 more shots that day.

My husband watched me get the shots and said it was worth it to see the expression on my face when the rubbery feeling started. It reminded him of what I used to look like before this all got so bad.

Thanks for posting your experience. I don't feel like such the loser for being among the many who may not get 3 months out of it. yeah right.

Hoping for the best for you with the responsibilities you have, from one pincushion to another,
choc

Toonces1 · 05-09-2009, 05:05 PM

I've gotten trigger point injections in the trapezius and rhomboids for about a year. It took a few rounds every couple weeks for the burning to die down somewhat (probably about 1-2 months). I only get them every few months now. It doesn't cure my pain, but because of how I sit now after having neck surgery, my upper back, neck and shoulders sometimes get some muscle burning. It seems like a pretty innocuous treatment to me, so I don't hesitate to get them when I am at the PM doctor's office.