The short version
- Injections at our clinic are evaluated for and given by Dr. Hector Molina, MD, not by the chiropractor.
- Trigger point injections target tight muscle knots; joint and epidural steroid injections target inflamed joints or irritated spinal nerves.
- Relief is often temporary, so injections work best as a window to do rehab, not as the whole plan.
- Steroid injections are usually limited to a few a year because repeated doses can weaken nearby tissue and bone.
What medical pain treatments does the clinic offer?
Alongside chiropractic care, our Dallas clinic offers three kinds of injections when they are needed: trigger point injections, joint injections and epidural steroid injections. These are medical procedures. They are evaluated for and performed by our clinic physician, Dr. Hector Molina, MD, not by Dr. Currington.
Dr. Molina has more than 25 years of experience in general medicine and earned his medical degree at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He is also fluent in Spanish.
Why would a chiropractic clinic offer injections?
Some pain is too intense to let you move, sleep or do rehab. In those cases, calming the pain for a while can make other care possible. Having a physician in the same clinic means medical and chiropractic care can be planned together instead of in separate offices.
How do the different injections compare?
Each injection targets a different source of pain.
| Injection | What is injected | Where it goes | Common uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger point | Usually a numbing medicine, sometimes with a steroid | A tight, tender knot in a muscle | Muscle pain in the neck, shoulders, back or hips |
| Joint | A steroid, usually with a numbing medicine | Inside a joint or nearby bursa or tendon sheath | Arthritis or inflammation in the knee, shoulder or hip |
| Epidural steroid | A steroid, often with a numbing medicine | The space around spinal nerves | Pain from an irritated nerve, such as sciatica |
Trigger point injections
A trigger point is a tight, tender band in a muscle that can send pain to other areas. A trigger point injection places a small amount of numbing medicine, sometimes with a steroid, directly into that spot. It is a cousin of dry needling, which uses a thin needle with no medicine.
Joint injections
A joint injection delivers a steroid into or near an inflamed joint, bursa or tendon. Steroids reduce inflammation. Relief may start within a few days and can last weeks to months. It is used for problems like knee pain from arthritis.
Epidural steroid injections
An epidural injection places a steroid into the space around the spinal nerves. It is mainly used when a herniated disc or spinal stenosis is irritating a nerve and causing pain down an arm or leg. It treats the inflammation, not the disc itself.
What does the evidence show?
Injections can reduce pain for a period of time, but they do not fix the underlying problem, and not everyone responds. Relief from epidural injections for leg pain from a disc is often short term. Results for back pain without nerve symptoms are weaker. For many people, injections are most useful as a window to start moving and strengthening.
Who should not get an injection?
Injections are generally avoided if you have an infection at the injection site or in your body, a bleeding problem that is not controlled, or an allergy to the medicines used. Poorly controlled diabetes, glaucoma and pregnancy call for extra care and discussion. Because repeated steroids can weaken nearby tissue and bone, physicians usually limit how many you receive in the same area each year.
Some symptoms need urgent medical care instead of an injection, such as loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness in the groin, rapidly increasing leg weakness, or back pain with fever.
How do injections fit with chiropractic and rehab?
Injections are one option inside a larger plan. Our approach combines care so that the same team sees how each piece is working.
For disc-related pain, an injection may be weighed alongside spinal decompression. Whatever path you choose, building strength and movement through physical rehab is what helps keep pain from coming back. If you are comparing options, our guide on decompression versus surgery explains the tradeoffs.
What happens at the visit?
- Dr. Molina reviews your history, medicines, exam findings and any imaging.
- He explains which injection, if any, fits your problem, plus its risks and alternatives.
- If you choose to go ahead, the skin is cleaned and the medicine is injected. Spinal injections are typically guided by imaging.
- You are watched briefly afterward and given instructions on activity and warning signs.
Conditions this is used for
Frequently asked questions
Injections are provided by our clinic physician, Dr. Hector Molina, MD. He earned his medical degree at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and has more than 25 years of experience in general medicine. Dr. Currington is a chiropractor and does not give injections. The two coordinate so your injection fits into your broader treatment plan.
It varies widely. Some people feel little change, others get relief lasting weeks, and some get several months. The numbing medicine wears off within hours, and the steroid, if used, may take a few days to start working. Because relief is often temporary, we use that window to build strength and movement through rehab.
Physicians usually limit steroid injections into the same area to a few per year. Repeated or high doses of steroid can weaken bones, tendons, cartilage and nearby muscles and can raise blood sugar. Your physician will track how many you have had and whether each one helped enough to justify another.
They can be, with planning. Steroids can raise blood sugar for a few days after an injection, so people with diabetes should check their levels more often and know what to do if numbers run high. Tell the physician about your diabetes medicines and recent readings before the procedure.
Not usually instead of, and often not at all. Many people improve with time, exercise and hands-on care. Injections are generally considered when pain stays high despite those steps or is keeping you from doing rehab. The decision is made after an exam, a review of your history and imaging when it is needed.
Sources
- Cleveland Clinic: Trigger point injections (opens in a new tab)
- MedlinePlus: Epidural injections for back pain (opens in a new tab)
- MedlinePlus: Steroid injections for tendon, bursa and joint (opens in a new tab)
- Cleveland Clinic: Epidural steroid injection (opens in a new tab)
- FDA label: Depo-Medrol (methylprednisolone acetate) injectable suspension (opens in a new tab)
This page is general education, not medical advice. It cannot replace an exam. Results from any treatment vary from person to person.
