What if the needle hits a nerve?
This happens occasionally. When a taut band is injected the patient feels a deep intense grabbing pain. When the needle touches a nerve the pain is like electricity, very sharp and clearly different. The doctor injecting can see this difference and the needle is immediately withdrawn. The nerve does not suffer any permanent injury by being touched by the needle. The nerve pain subsides immediately or within a few seconds in almost all cases. A smaller group may take several minutes. Occasionally the nerve pain may persist until the next session. This is usually intermittent and is a sharp catching pain with certain movements. There may be an area of skin nearby or at some distance from the injection site that is tingling or numb. This normally releases by a further injection into the same area where the nerve was touched. It is usually caused by a very focal segment of a taut band and the second injection produces a very brisk twitch response with intense deep pain plus the sharp nerve
