Trigger Point Therapy: The Drug-Free Migraine Remedy You Haven't Tried

It’s easy to think of a migraine as a severe headache because that is the main sign of this neurological disorder. But it’s only one of the many symptoms, which also include: nausea, dizziness, vision problems, and sensitivity to bright lights, sounds, and certain smells. 

If you have migraine with aura, you might also experience difficulty speaking, weakness or numbness on one side of your body, uncontrollable jerking, and vision loss.

Every person who suffers from migraine experiences it differently, and the key to treating the condition lies in understanding your unique reaction to it. 

That’s why our team of specialists here at Accelerated Medical in Elko, Nevada, educates our patients about the latest migraine research and treatments and helps them learn to recognize their personal symptoms and triggers. 

One of the most promising treatments for some sufferers is the trigger point injection. Here’s what you need to know to decide whether it might be right for you.

Migraine — more than a headache

Migraine is a neurological condition often characterized by a debilitating headache. The medical community is still not sure what causes migraine, though many believe it’s tied to environmental factors, genetics, and brain chemical imbalances. 

Once you have migraine (the condition), you may begin to notice certain things that trigger an attack. Although the two terms seem interchangeable, there’s a difference between a cause and a trigger. A cause is what’s responsible for you contracting the condition of migraine, while a trigger is what sets off an attack.

Triggers include a long list of possibilities, including certain foods or smells, hormones, sleep deprivation, sights and sounds, even depression and anxiety. One of the most common triggers, however, is muscle tension and pain.

Tight, knotted muscles, called trigger points, may occur due to poor posture, high stress levels, injury, overexercising, and repetitive movements. Trigger points are known to set off migraine attacks.

The relationship between trigger points and migraines

While migraines are considered primary headaches (a condition in and of itself), you may experience secondary headaches (symptoms of other conditions) that stem from myofascial pain brought on by the trigger points, especially those in your neck and shoulders. 

Not all migraine attacks are brought on by these taut balls of muscle fiber, but if yours are, trigger point injections may be the best way to address them. 

Migraines affect your whole body and often create knots of tension in your muscles that exacerbate the headache. You may have more than one trigger point, meaning we might need to treat several spots to relieve your symptoms.

How trigger point injections work

Receiving a trigger point injection is easy. Just like any other shot, you sit or lie down comfortably while we inject a slender needle into the problematic trigger point. The injection delivers a local anesthetic and a corticosteroid; the first gives you immediate relief, the second gives you long-lasting relief. 

Trigger point injections release the tension at its source, relaxing the knot and releasing its pull on the muscles connected to it. 

If you’re sensitive to anesthetics, we can often release your muscle knot through dry needling, which involves inserting a needle without injecting anything. When the needle penetrates the knot, it loosens the muscle spasm, although relief from dry needling is not as immediate as the injection of anesthetic. 

If you suffer from chronic migraines due to myofascial pain or trigger points, and you’ve tried medication and lifestyle changes with little success, trigger point injections may be the solution you’re looking for. 

Contact us by phone or online to book an appointment today, and find out if trigger point injections can treat your migraine pain.