Non-Operative Pain Treatment

Injections Q & A

How can injections help with pain?

It’s not the injection but the medication used in the injection that helps relieve your pain. Conditions such as osteoarthritis can irritate and inflame your joints, which leads to pain and decreased range of motion. Commonly affecting the knees, hips, shoulders, and spine, osteoarthritis can make it hard to accomplish your daily activities. The pain can also interfere with your ability to participate in other helpful treatments such as physical therapy.

An injection that includes an anti-inflammatory drug (corticosteroid) to reduce inflammation and swelling can greatly decrease and even eliminate your pain for several months. The injection may also include an anesthetic to offer temporary pain relief, but the main goal is to reduce inflammation. In most cases, injections are more helpful when used in combination with other therapies.

Newer injection therapies include platelet-rich plasma (PRP), which contain growth factors and proteins that aid in healing soft tissues, and stem cell therapy. Research shows that PRP injections can also reduce inflammation by altering your body’s immune response to injury.

What joints can benefit from injection therapy?

The physicians at Orthopedic Specialists often recommend injection therapy for painful:

• Knee, shoulder, hip, ankle, elbow joints
• Sacroiliac joints in the lower back
• Facet joints in the cervical (neck) and lumbar (low back) spine

Your specialist may also recommend nerve blocks to interrupt pain signals traveling from the targeted area to your brain or, for longer pain relief, radiofrequency ablation.

What is radiofrequency ablation?

Radiofrequency ablation is another form of “injection” that uses radio waves transmitted through small insulated needles to destroy damaged nerve tissue. This therapy may provide relief from chronic pain caused by:

• Injuries such as whiplash
• Arthritis in the spine (spondylosis)
• Peripheral nerve entrapment syndrome
• Prior spine surgeries

Radiofrequency ablation is often recommended for longer-term relief from conditions that are proving resistant to nerve blocks or other types of injections.

Are joint injections safe?

Every orthopedist at Orthopedic Specialists is board-certified and/or fellowship-trained. Each has the skills and medical expertise necessary for providing injections safely. Your doctor also uses advanced ultrasound or X-ray guidance to ensure the injection is placed and dispersed appropriately.

Schedule an appointment at Orthopedic Specialists online or by phone today to find out more about injections and whether the therapy is right for you.