BeWell Medical: Ultrasound TPI Equals More Accurate Pain Diagnosis and Treatment

Clarius scanner

BeWell Medical announces the Ultrasound-guided Trigger Point Injection technique, a new, quicker and more accurate method of diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal pain and disorders.

North Vancouver, BC – BeWell Medical Clinic has received a major boost in diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal pain and associated disorders, via the ultrasound-guided Trigger Point Injection (TPI) technique, which ensures accurate needle placement in the cervicothoracic musculature during treatment of muscle pain.

This ground-breaking technique will use near-pinpoint ultrasound placement to aid clinicians in avoiding adipose tissue penetration, which can reduce an injection’s effectiveness. The ultrasound guidance could help avoid associated complications, including a pneumothorax or inadvertent intrathecal injection, and may increase TPI accuracy and effectiveness in reducing and/or relieving myofascial pain as well as associated complications.

What is the TPI Technique?

Systemic Muscle pain typically can be associated with trigger points in the human body. These points are “knots” in an individual’s muscles and often are the suspected cause of tension headaches, myofascial pain and symptoms of diseases such as fibromyalgia. When these knots form, muscles cannot release and that can lead to pinched nerves, strained and sore muscles.

When triggered and agitated, these points can cause extreme pain and the muscles surrounding the trigger point adapt to alleviate the pain. The areas these trigger points commonly are located include but are not limited to:

  • Arms
  • Lower Back
  • Neck
  • Head

Injection Challenges

TPI typically experience one of two types of challenges.

In obese patients, the first is the placement of the needle tip and ensuring it is in the muscle or in adipose tissue. If the injection is not in the muscle, the injection will have limited effectiveness and may not alleviate pain at all.

The second challenge affects all patients and that is that TPI in the cervical and thoracic spine can increase the possibility because of accurate placement of pneumothorax, or partially collapsed lung.

How Ultrasound Helps TPI

Trigger point injections are pinpoint injections designed to treat pain at its source. The ultrasound technique allows for closer placement of the injection because it gives the clinician a real-time “map” of where the trigger point is located.  This not only ensures the trigger point is directly affected, but also leads to a quicker and more thorough treatment of the pain symptom. It can also help diagnose the cause of the pain by allowing for a more accurate picture of its source to be gathered.

Better Results

Ultrasound TPI will lead to more accurate injection placement and the reduction of the possibility of associated complications. This can lead to quicker, more accurate and better outcomes for patients in the treatment of pain and underlying conditions.