Review your payer policies when performing these services.

Pain management coding can be tricky.  Trigger point injection therapy is a common procedure performed by pain management specialists, orthopedic surgeons, physical medicine and rehab and other specialties. Trigger point injection therapy is used for the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome (MPS).

According to the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. Myofascial pain is a common, non-articular musculoskeletal disorder characterized by symptomatic myofascial trigger points – hard, palpable, localized nodules within taut bands of skeletal muscle that are painful upon compression. MPS is a chronic condition affecting the connective tissue (i.e., fascia) surrounding the muscles; sensitive points in your muscles (trigger points) cause referred pain in seemingly unrelated parts of the body. MPS typically occurs after a muscle has been contracted repetitively. The large upper back muscles are prone to developing myofascial pain, as well as the neck, shoulders, heel and temporomandibular joint.