Overview:
Joint pain (knee, shoulder, hip) is a very common pain complaint and can be caused by a multitude of factors – osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, previous surgery, torn ligaments or cartilage and wear and tear over time. Some patients
choose not to have surgery or are not ideal candidates for surgery. Many times anti-inflammatory medications are not enough and with progression of the pain, a person’s activities can be severely limited. An x-ray guided major joint
injection can help relieve some of this pain and thus allow patients to return with a more active lifestyle and hopefully avoid or delay the need for surgery.
Conditions commonly treated with x-ray guided major joint injections:
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Post surgical pain
- Bursitis – inflammation of bursa (fluid filled sac) around many joints/tendons
- Any other chronic joint pain
The procedure:
Please arrive 20 minutes prior to your appointment on procedure day. Our nurses will start an IV if you are requesting sedation and take a pre-operative nurse assessment. All patients are taken to the procedure room on a hospital bed. Once in the procedure room you will be given sedation to help make you comfortable. A cold cleaning solution will be placed on your skin to help decrease chances of infection. The procedure site is then identified by your doctor under x-ray guidance. Once the site is identified a tiny needle will be placed under continuous x-ray guidance into the specific joint. Needle placement is then confirmed with contrast dye. A small mixture of bupivicaine (numbing medication) and steroid is then injected directly into the joint. The needle is then removed and patient will be taken to recovery room.
What to expect after procedure:
There are no real limitations after joint injection. Use of the joint is encouraged and may actually help spread the medication through the joint. Many patients will feel immediate pain relief and improved function of the joint immediately. Some patients may not experience relief for 3-5 days. The pain relief can last anywhere from a few weeks to several months. The injections can be repeated at 3 month intervals, but should not be done sooner due to excessive steroid administration.