Corticosteroid injections into painful joints or trigger points can provide immense and long-lasting relief for many patients experiencing discomfort. At The Doctor’s House in West New York, New Jersey, Daniel Maenner, DO, addresses joint pain and myofascial pain with these injections as part of a pain management plan. To schedule an appointment for joint pain and trigger point injections, call or book online today.

What is joint pain?

Joint pain is discomfort or pain that occurs at one or more of your joints, which are the places in your body where two bones meet. Your joints include cartilage, muscles, ligaments, and tendons that all work together to help them move.

Joint pain can come from soft tissue injuries like muscle or tendon tears, bone fractures near the joint, or arthritis. There are several different forms of arthritis, the most common being:

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis involves the breakdown of cartilage within your joints. It results in stiffness, inflammation, and pain.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis stems from an autoimmune reaction. Your immune system attacks a membrane lining your joints to cause inflammation and pain.

Injections of steroids are often a fitting treatment for arthritis and other forms of joint pain because they relieve inflammation.

What are trigger point injections?

Trigger point injections are injections of corticosteroids, local anesthesia, or other medications that your physician places near trigger points to relieve pain and tightness. Trigger points are fibrous knots in your muscles that can be the source of chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Myofascial pain syndrome is a chronic condition that results in recurrent trigger points. Long term, this condition can have a serious impact on you as the pain impacts productivity and satisfaction with life.

Trigger point injections can also treat pain from headaches and migraines or fibromyalgia, which shares some of the same symptoms as arthritis.

For some, trigger point injections offer immediate relief. In other cases, it takes a few days to notice the effects. It’s important to note that trigger point injections aren’t the right course of treatment for everyone and may not provide enough relief in every case.

What should I expect during joint pain and trigger point injections?

Treating trigger points or arthritis with joint pain and trigger point injections is simple at The Doctor’s House. Your provider asks you to identify areas of pain and might perform diagnostic tests like X-rays or blood tests.

Your provider cleans the area thoroughly before performing the procedure. They may also offer you a topical anesthetic for your skin.

During a joint injection, your provider might aspirate or remove some fluid from the joint before injecting the steroid. If you’re treating a larger joint like your hip, they might use X-ray imaging or an ultrasound to guide the needle.

During a trigger point injection, you might feel a crunch as the needle enters and breaks apart the tight knot in your muscle. The muscle should relax soon after you feel this sensation.