Have you ever pressed on a painful spot in your back and felt a firm, tender knot beneath the skin? The area may ache constantly, hurt when touched, or send discomfort into another part of your body.
At Allcare Medical & Injury, we see patients from Orlando and Longwood whose stubborn muscle pain has not improved with rest, stretching, or other at-home measures. These painful areas may be trigger points, and when conservative care is not enough, trigger point injections may be considered as part of a personalized treatment plan.
What is a Muscle Knot?
“Muscle knot” is an everyday term commonly used to describe a trigger point—a sensitive, tight area within a muscle or the surrounding connective tissue.
Trigger points can be painful when pressed, but they may also create referred pain. This means the discomfort is felt somewhere other than where the trigger point is located. For example, a trigger point in an upper-back or shoulder muscle may contribute to pain in the neck or head.
When trigger points become persistent and cause ongoing pain, the condition may be described as myofascial pain syndrome.
What Causes Muscle Knots in the Back?
Trigger points may form after a sudden injury or repeated, lower-level stress on a muscle. At Allcare Medical & Injury, we look at your activities, posture, injuries, and movement patterns to help identify what may be keeping the muscle tense.
Common contributors include:
- Sitting at a desk for extended periods
- Poor posture while using a phone or computer
- Repetitive lifting, reaching, or twisting
- Sports and exercise injuries
- Car accidents
- Lifting more weight than your body is prepared to handle
- Muscle weakness or imbalance
- Stress-related muscle tension
- Inadequate recovery between physical activities
- Sleeping in an awkward position
A painful knot may also develop when one muscle repeatedly compensates for restricted movement or weakness elsewhere in the body.
What Do Trigger Points Feel Like?
A trigger point may feel like a small nodule, tight band, or firm area within the muscle. Symptoms can include:
- Deep, aching back pain
- Tenderness when the area is pressed
- Pain that travels to another area
- Muscle stiffness or restricted movement
- Pain that worsens with activity
- Tension headaches
- Difficulty sleeping because of discomfort
- A knot that repeatedly returns after massage or stretching
Not every painful spot in the back is a trigger point. Disc injuries, arthritis, nerve compression, spinal stenosis, and other conditions can produce similar symptoms. That is why we evaluate the source of your pain before recommending an injection.
When Is Conservative Treatment a Good First Step?
Many muscle knots improve with movement changes, appropriate stretching, physical therapy, massage, heat, and improved posture. Reducing or temporarily modifying the activity that caused the problem may also help.
At our Orlando and Longwood offices, we may combine several approaches to improve mobility and address factors that keep placing stress on the muscle. The goal is not simply to make the knot feel better for a few hours, but to help prevent the same problem from repeatedly returning.
When Should You Consider Trigger Point Injections?
Trigger point injections may be considered when a clearly identified trigger point continues causing pain despite more conservative treatment. They may also be useful when the pain is severe enough to prevent you from participating comfortably in physical therapy, stretching, or other rehabilitation.
You may want to discuss trigger point injections if:
- The knot has not improved with rest or at-home care
- Pain keeps returning in the same location
- The discomfort limits your work, sleep, or activities
- The muscle remains tight despite physical therapy or massage
- Referred pain is affecting another part of your body
- Pain prevents you from completing rehabilitative exercises
An injection should follow a proper evaluation. We need to determine whether the pain is truly coming from a trigger point and whether the procedure is appropriate for your medical history.
What Happens During a Trigger Point Injection?
At Allcare Medical & Injury, our trigger point injections use lidocaine, a local anesthetic. After locating the painful trigger point and cleaning the skin, the provider inserts a thin needle into the affected muscle and administers the medication.
The procedure is intended to interrupt the pain-and-spasm cycle and help the muscle relax. Some patients experience temporary soreness, bruising, or numbness around the injection site.
Although trigger point injections are generally considered low risk when properly performed, possible complications include bleeding, infection, an allergic reaction, and injury to nearby structures. We will review the potential benefits and risks before treatment.
Are Trigger Point Injections a Permanent Solution?
Trigger point injections may reduce pain, but the duration of relief varies. An injection does not automatically correct the posture, weakness, repetitive movement, or injury that contributed to the trigger point.
For that reason, we often use injections as one part of a broader plan. Reducing the pain may allow you to participate more comfortably in physical therapy, stretching, strengthening, or other treatments intended to restore function and address the underlying cause.
Our team will monitor your response and determine whether additional treatment is appropriate.
When Does Back Pain Need Prompt Medical Attention?
Seek immediate medical care if back pain follows a serious accident or occurs with chest pain, difficulty breathing, fever, unexplained weakness, loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness around the groin.
You should also schedule an evaluation if pain travels into an arm or leg, causes numbness or weakness, worsens at night, or continues despite reasonable self-care.
Find Relief From Painful Muscle Knots in Orlando and Longwood
You do not have to keep pressing, stretching, or massaging the same painful knot without understanding why it returns. At Allcare Medical & Injury, we evaluate your back pain and create a plan based on your symptoms, movement, and individual needs.
Call Allcare Medical & Injury at 407-774-6800 to schedule a complimentary consultation at our Orlando or Longwood office. We can determine whether your pain is related to a trigger point and whether injections or another treatment may help you move and feel better.
