Back Pain Community

hi marieh9 - i'm not sure what myofascial release is but I have had lots of trigger point injections -

these were basically done the same as most injections in the back where a numbing agent is used then the tube is inserted and then the needle is injected with the medicine -

My back was and is in such bad shape that just in the last year have found that I have been having reactions to steroid injections - thus they did not work - neither did injections of numbing agent/anti-inflammatory medicine.

I'm sure there are others that have had good results from this -

take care - Joy~~

bj1208,
Sorry about your back. Yes there is a type of massage for myofascial release too. But I am also interested in the trigger point injections. Did they help when they did the injections? How painful was it during or after? I assume the steroid or numbing agent helped while they were doing it except when you started getting the reactions to them. I am sorry to hear that. Are the trigger point injections supposed to be temporary or can they sometimes work long term? I am thinking of accupunture too. Have you tried that? It works for some.
marieh9

Hi there -

I have had so many injections: epidurals, facet joint, trigger points; steroid injections, radio frequency nerve ablation, etc.

The trigger point injections are different in that they target muscle areas that won't relax. In my circumstance the only time I had relief was with the numbing agent used before the actual injection is done. This usually lasted 30-45 minutes then the pains were back and with the trigger point the muscles never did relax.

As for the reactions to the steroid injections, I would turn bright red (injection in lower back) and my upper body would turn red - arms, chest, face - I would start pouring sweat and then I had a huge problem with eating - I felt like I had an empty pit in my stomach for about 2 weeks - I would eat a meal and feel as though I had not eaten. It was just recently when discussing this with my PM doc that he said I had reactions to steroids so I went thru 3 1/2 years of this - oh and the weight gain was horrible too -

The trigger point injections are to help relax the muscles, and since everyone is different they work differently - so you won't know if it's going to work until you try it -

Oh and yea I did have the myofascial massage - just never heard it referred to as 'release' - I had been to so many PT's and they would massage starting from the spine going outward - had this done when I first got there, did my exercises, had heat/ice treatments then they would massage again as my muscles were tight again. So the treatment did not work for me.

I would love to do acupuncture but our insurance does not pay very well on this and plus the only doctor in our network is 75 miles away! So it's not very beneficial for me to go.

Let us know what you do and if the treatments work - take care - Joy~~