Joint Injections

Description

If you’ve got pain in your knee, hip, or shoulder, either from arthritis, injury, inflammatory disease, or normal wear and tear, your doctor may suggest injecting the area with an anti-inflammatory steroid or, in the case of the knee, a gel-like cushioning lubricant that replicates your joint’s natural synovial fluid.

Joint Injections for Pain

Joint injections are a conservative approach to surgery, done in the clinic or outpatient setting and are designed to alleviate pain and reduce inflammation.

Knee Joint Injections

For knee pain, your doctor may suggest Joint Injection not only to reduce pain, but also help the bones in your knee glide more smoothly. With Knee Joint Injection, your doctor may use a special kind of X-ray called a fluoroscope to ensure that the needle and the lubricant gets to the exact right spot. With Knee Joint Injections, relief is not immediate and can take several few weeks. While one injection may be enough, it may take several injections to get the full benefit of the medication.

Hip Joint Injections

For hip pain, your doctor may suggest Joint Injection for two reasons: (1) to help locate the source of your pain and (2) to help make your hip feel better. Your surgeon may use an ultrasound to guide the needle or an X-ray fluoroscope with contrast dye to locate the best place to inject the medicine. Hip injections usually help the hip feel better in just a few hours. You can expect even more relief over a period of several days following the treatment.

Shoulder Joint Injections

For shoulder pain, the procedure is very similar to Hip Joint Injections. Your doctor will use X-ray guidance to insert the needle into the proper location within the shoulder joint. Shoulder Joint Injections bathe the joint in inflammation-reducing medicine known as a corticosteroid. With Shoulder Joint Injection, it can take a few days to feel the effects of the medicine.