Trigger points are painful spots located in a tight band of muscle. They can produce pain both locally and in a referred pattern. Trigger-point injections often provide immediate and drastic relief and is used when a patient is in so much pain that they are unable to have any other physical therapy done to them. Once a trigger point has been located and the overlying skin has been cleansed with alcohol, the doctor isolates the point and injects it with an small amount of anesthetic, a steroid, or a combination of the two.