Shoulder Pain

Ongoing shoulder pain is quite likely to prevent you from engaging in a lot of activities – even ones that you normally do. You have tried to get relief in a variety of ways, but nothing has worked so far. There are four kinds of interventional pain management treatments that can help you.

Trigger Point Injections (Intramuscular). A trigger point is a place in your muscles where knots will often form. Relief may not be easy to obtain. In fact, some people find that they do not go away at all. This is particularly true in accident cases, in osteoarthritis, or in cases of fibromyalgia. In that case, a trigger point injection may help.

After a diagnosis, the doctor may inject an anesthetic into the knotted muscle to remove the pain. A steroid may also be mixed with it to help reduce the inflammation.

Shoulder Joint Injections. Injections can be given in various places in the shoulder, depending on the cause and source of the pain. A diagnosis will be given first, and then several types of injections may be used to help alleviate pain.

One of the most common injections is cortisone. This is a powerful anti-inflammatory medication that can be injected directly into the painful joint. It is often combined with an anesthesia to provide quick relief. Another type of injection is hyaluronic acid. This substance is naturally found in the joints, but may have been reduced through injury.