How Trigger Point Injections Target Shoulder Pain

You have a sore, achy shoulder. It may throb or feel tender to the touch. You may even feel a knot when you reach up and touch the area. You have trouble reaching items in your kitchen cabinet or taking a shower because moving your shoulder hurts. It’s time to see a specialist. 

If you’re in severe pain when you come to the office — after imaging tests and diagnostics — and your pain comes from knotted muscle tissue, a trigger point, board-certified physical therapist Dr. Mohamed Hablas with Outreach Manual Physical Therapy can administer a trigger point injection to help calm inflammation and lessen pain. Once the trigger point injection starts to work, Dr. Hablas recommends a physical therapy regimen to help you regain range of motion and strength. 

What causes trigger points in the shoulder? 

Do you use repetitive motions that involve your shoulder? Perhaps you’re a tennis aficionado, and play several times a week. On the other hand, do you have a job that requires repeated overhead motions, such as painting, carpentry, or warehouse work? Any repetitive motion done day after day over several years can result in an overuse injury. 

Sometimes, that injury includes a trigger point or knotted muscle and fascia tissue that has remained contracted. Fascia is the white connective tissue covering your muscles. 

On the other hand, these knots, or trigger points, can also occur from constant stationary tension placed on muscles. If you work at the computer all day, do you hunch forward? Do you hold your phone to your ear for long periods when you’re talking on the phone? Do you have a habit of slouching in your chair instead of using a back support? 

These examples of poor posture can result in a trigger point in your shoulder, neck, back, or other muscles. 

What happens during a trigger point injection? 

Our staff cleans your skin where the injection gets placed. Dr. Hablas  marks the spot on your skin. Our staff stabilizes the muscle tissue by placing the knot between their fingers. 

Dr. Hablas inserts a thin needle with a local anesthetic and a steroid in a syringe into the trigger point. The anesthetic calms the surrounding nerves, and the steroid reduces inflammation. 

You feel some pain and a burning sensation, which lets you know Dr. Hablas is hitting the trigger point. Our staff places a bandaid on the area. After the injection, Dr. Hablas massages the area.  

You can resume activity, but you want to avoid extreme exertion for a few days. You should begin to feel relief in 1-3 days, although it may take longer for some patients. 

Call Outreach Manual Physical Therapy in Brooklyn, New York, or book an appointment through our online portal today for all your physical therapy needs.