Trigger Point Injections

• Discomfort around the injection site, together with some bruising, particularly if you take medication to thin your blood.
• An increase in your normal pain.
• Numbness in the limb/area that was treated.
• A local allergic reaction to the injection, which results in redness and itching. This is not serious, although we need to know about it for future treatments.
• Patients suffering from diabetes may experience a temporary rise in their blood sugar levels.
• Infection at the needle site.
• Damage to other local structures including nerves, blood vessels and very rarely, underlying structures.
• Damage to tissues in the area of the injection site, and very rarely, a permanent increase in pain.

You can eat and drink normally unless your pain consultant advises otherwise.

Take your usual medication and bring your medication with you. Patients taking anticoagulants (blood-thinning drugs) such as warfarin or clopidogrel, or diabetics taking medication, will be given tailored advice.

You will be asked to lie or sit on the examination bed and the injection area is sterilised. Although you may experience some discomfort during the injection, this is a good sign, as it helps the consultant know they are putting it exactly where it is needed.

Although the procedure itself only takes about 10 to 15 minutes the timing of the procedure will be dependent on the theatre workload, and it may be necessary to wait up to two hours.

 If it is judged safe by the nurse, you may be discharged home while you are still experiencing some numbness.

For safety reasons, you are asked not to drive home yourself and to have somebody with you for the rest of the day.

• Numbness in the limb/area that was treated is temporary and normal sensation will return over the next few hours. Please take care to protect the area/limb until normal sensation returns. This is very important as you could cause injury to yourself by contact with heat or other objects, such as furniture.
• An increase in your normal pain should be temporary, although it may last for up to two weeks, but will improve once the steroid starts to work. Taking your normal pain relief is effective but if the pain is severe, please consult your GP.
• You may experience some soreness or aching at the injection site. Please keep the area dry for 24 hours.
• Try to keep mobile but avoid anything too strenuous.

You will be either offered a telephone or a face to face follow up to assess the treatment success.   Next steps will be decided according to the level of benefit you have had from the injections and any further appointments will be sent to you in the post. If you are free from pain, you may not need a routine follow-up, but may be left with a six-month open appointment instead.

 Signs of injection site infection may develop after a few days, with increasing pain, swelling and redness. Speak to your consultant or seek advice from your GP as treatment with antibiotics is usually sufficient.