Q: What medications will be used?

Dr. Zhang will tailor the best and safest formulation and dose for every single patient individually to help ensure maximum results. This will typically depend on the exact location, injection approach, type of medication(s), dosage of medication(s). Typically a local anesthetic will be used. A local anesthetic is a medication that is often used as a numbing agent by blocking pain signals. Occasionally a steroid can also be added if the cause of your pain is inflammation. Steroid is a medication that can be used to treat many painful conditions by decreasing inflammation.

Q: What is the trigger point procedure like?

Our staff will help position you for your trigger point injection. Depending on the location of your trigger point injection, we may have you sitting up, laying down on your back, or even laying down on your stomach. We will clean off your skin with some cold soap, which is very important to prevent infection. The doctor will then use a small needle to numb you as well as dry needling to help break up your myofascial tension. Once the needle is in the correct location, a little bit of your individualized medication formulation will be injected. We will then monitor you and go over discharge instructions before letting you leave.

Q: Am I allowed to go back to work on the same day?

Yes, we do allow patients to go back to work! Overall this is a very low risk procedure, and do not expect any significant limitations. We do recommend taking some anti-inflammatory medications if you are able to and icing the areas as needed for the first 24 hours.