Joint Injections
About 30 million adults in the United States experience chronic joint pain. If joint pain or stiffness prevents you from enjoying life to its fullest, the pain management physicians at NovaSpine Pain Institute in Sun City West, Sun City, Gilbert, and Glendale, Arizona, can help. They offer shoulder, hip, elbow, and knee injections that reduce inflammation, speed up healing, ease pain, and restore the quality of your life. Schedule an appointment with NovaSpine Pain Institute by phone or use the online contact form to learn more about your joint injection options.
Joint Injections Q & A
What are joint injections?
Joint injections are minimally invasive procedures in which your doctor injects medications into or near your joints to reduce inflammation, ease chronic pain, and speed up healing. The injections are in-office procedures that treat the source of pain directly or block pain pathways.
Your doctor uses a fluoroscopic X-ray or sonogram (ultrasound) during the procedure to place needles with pinpoint accuracy. Because the procedure is minimally invasive, joint injections require little to no recovery time
Why might I need joint injections?
You may need joint injections in your knee, shoulder, hip, or elbow to relieve pain if you suffer from arthritis or a joint-related injury. Examples include bursitis, tendinitis, repetitive use injuries, inflammation, and chronic pain that’s debilitating.
To determine the cause of joint pain, your doctor reviews your medical history and symptoms, examines the affected area, and could use blood and/or imaging tests to diagnose your condition.
What are the different types of joint injections?
Your doctor can recommend one of the following joint injections, depending on your personalized needs:
Steroid injections
During a series of steroid injections, your pain management physician places steroid medicines into areas of your joints to ease or eliminate swelling and pain.
Viscosupplementation injections
If you suffer from arthritis pain, your specialist can inject hyaluronic acid into the joints to reduce swelling, lubricate the affected joints, and alleviate chronic pain.
Nerve block injections
Your doctor might use nerve block injections to ease pain by blocking pain receptors along nerve pathways.
What should I expect during the procedure?
Joint injections are minimally invasive, in-office procedures. Your doctor gives you a sedative to keep you relaxed and a local anesthetic to make the injections more comfortable. They often use X-ray guidance during the injections to maximize precision and accuracy.
Joint injections can take several days to take effect, and your provider might send you to physical therapy after the injection to help you get the best results possible.
Are joint injections right for me?
The specialists at NovaSpine Pain Institute offer many chronic pain treatments in addition to joint injections to ease chronic pain and restore joint function. Talk with your provider about which pain management solution best suits your personalized needs.
Don’t live with chronic joint pain when you don’t have to. Schedule an appointment with NovaSpine Pain Institute over the phone or use the online contact form today.