Trigger Point Injection: Research Studies & Treatment

What is Trigger Point Injection?

A trigger point injection is a procedure designed to reduce or relieve the back pain caused by trigger points, which are small knots that form in muscles or in the fascia tissue leading to pain caused by muscle irritation.

What is Myofascial Trigger Points?

Myofascial trigger point pain is defined as pain arising from one or more myofascial trigger points, which are hyper-irritable spots in the skeletal muscle that are associated with hypersensitive palpable nodules in taut bands.²⁹

Trigger Point Injection Research Studies

Una revisione sistematica è un tipo di revisione della letteratura che raccoglie e analizza criticamente più studi o documenti di ricerca. A systematic review by Cummings and White assessed the effectiveness of trigger point injection therapy for myofascial pain.²⁹ The systematic review included a total of 23 randomized controlled trials in which all tested needle therapy to relieve myofascial pain.²⁹ While the needling was effective, the positive effect of the therapy was more likely attributed to the needle of the placebo, not the drug injected. There was no pain improvement between direct needling or placebo.²⁹

A systematic review is a type of literature review that collect and critically analyze multiple research studies or papers. Scott et al. studied the effectiveness of trigger point injections for chronic non-malignant musculoskeletal pain in their systematic review.³¹ Participants’ pain must have lasted more than 3 months to be included in the study.³¹ 15 randomized controlled trials were included for the purpose of the study.³¹ Researchers found no evidence supporting the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of trigger point injections.³¹ 

Trigger Point Injection Research Conclusion

In regards to pain relief, the three systematic reviews display no evidence for the effectiveness of trigger point injection therapy.  A trigger point injection may not provide pain improvement, but a recent study has shown that ASTR treatment can result in significant pain improvement. ASTR stands for Advanced Soft Tissue Release, a manual therapy specialty developed by Dr. Joesph Jacobs, DPT. ASTR takes a holistic approach to treating the source of soft tissue restriction in a way that is virtually pain-free and highly effective.

Efficace sollievo dal dolore Trattamento

ASTR tratta i dolori muscolari e articolari in modo delicato, efficace e naturale affrontando squilibri muscolari, tessuto cicatriziale, punti trigger, restrizioni della fascia, infiammazioni, postura, meccanica corporea che sono spesso la fonte del dolore. ASTR adotta un approccio olistico per affrontare le cause profonde del dolore, non solo i sintomi. Il trattamento ASTR può essere eseguito a casa per dolori muscolari e articolari.

Riferimenti:

28. Cotchett MP, Landdorf KB, Munteanu SE. Efficacia del dry needling e delle iniezioni di punti trigger miofasciali associati al dolore del tallone plantare: una revisione sistematica. J piede caviglia ris. 2010;3:18.

29. Cummings TM, bianco AR. Terapie di needling nella gestione del dolore dei punti trigger miofasciali: una revisione sistematica.Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2001;82:986-92. 

30. Xue CC, Helme RD, Gibson S, et al. Effetto dell'elettroagopuntura sul consumo di oppioidi in pazienti con dolore muscoloscheletrico cronico: protocollo di uno studio randomizzato controllato. Prove. 2012;13:169. doi:10.1186/1745-6215-13-169.

31.  Scott N. A., Guo B., Barton P. M., Gerwin R. D. Trigger point injections for chronic non-malignant musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review. Medicina del dolore. 2009;10(1):54–69. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2008.00526.x. 

32. Ernst E, Canter PH. Una revisione sistematica delle revisioni sistematiche della manipolazione spinale. Giornale della Royal Society of Medicine. 2006;99(4):192-196.