Injections of pain-relieving medication are common for the treatment of back pain – but, in reality, many more painful sites throughout the body can benefit from an injection. Whether arthritis in the knee is impeding your life, neck pain is stopping you from enjoying activities or hip pain is making moving difficult, a joint injection may be just the thing you need.
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How Injections Work
Injections can be utilized on various sites throughout the body to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. While inflammation is a natural part of the body’s immune response – and can therefore help us heal – the prolonged inflammation that occurs as part of many chronic conditions result in long-term pain and sensitivity.[1]
Injections for knee, neck or hip pain may contain various medications; a physician will determine which ones are appropriate based on your particular condition. Typically, a combination of a local anesthetic and steroid medication will be utilized. While the anesthetic works to reduce pain in the short-term, the steroid will work to reduce pain and inflammation in the longer-term, usually up to several months.[1]
A patient may still experience pain after the anesthetic wears off but before the steroid medication takes effect. This is normal and pain relief should occur soon. For some patients, one injection may be enough to provide adequate long-term relief; however, others may require several injections to experience the full benefits.
The Procedure
Injections are a simple, quick and precise way to treat pain at the source. In preparation for an injection, your physician will clean the area to be treated and then inject a numbing medication. To ensure that the medication is injected at the precise area it’s needed, the physician utilizes an X-ray device called a fluoroscope and a test injection of dye. (If the dye pools around the joint’s tissue, the physician will know that the needle needs adjustment. If it doesn’t pool, that means the medication will reach the desired space inside the joint.)[1]
When the needle’s proper placement is ensured, a syringe filled with medication is attached and the medication is injected. After the needle is removed, the site may be covered with a small bandage.
More than Just Pain Relief
Injections help to both relieve pain and restore function. In doing so, they can also help an individual get more from physical therapy. And therapy, in turn, can actually help prolong and increase the pain-reliving effects gained from injections, in addition to preventing pain recurrence and re-injury.
In addition, the pain relief gained from the combination of injections and therapy can oftentimes help pain sufferers decrease their reliance on opioids. And a lower dose of opioids means a lower chance of dangerous opioid-related side effects.
Injections are a safe, low-risk way to treat pain at the source and get you moving again.
[1] “Patient Engagement Videos.” ViewMedica. 2015. Accessed March 08, 2016. https://viewmedica.com/.
