Injections To Cure Joint Pain!

Depending on the severity of your pain, injections can be another option for easing your joint pain and get you moving again. These injections are used to try reducing inflammation and pain in your joints, with this treatment, you often can experience fewer symptoms for several months.

There are several injectable options to help treat knee pain the injections range from corticosteroids, which have been around for decades, to newer orthobiologic injections like platelet-rich plasma (prp) and placental tissue matrix (ptm)

Corticosteroid injections -

Use: this injection is the first line of defense against osteoarthritis symptoms and other joint pain in shoulders, knees and hips. Corticosteroids can offer relief for two to three months, and reduce inflammatory cell activity in the joint.

Side effects: as with all injections, there’s a small chance of infection — about one in 1, 000.

Hyaluronic acid injections -

Use: hyaluronic acid (ha) injections often are used when corticosteroid injections don’t work. But they usually are approved only for use in the knee.

In some instances, doctors consider an ha injection first if you don’t have obvious signs of inflammation. Ha also is a better option if you have diabetes, as corticosteroids can raise blood sugar levels.

Also known as gel injections, ha injections are chemically similar to your natural joint fluid.

When you have osteoarthritis, joint fluid becomes watery. So, this injection helps to restore the fluid’s natural properties and works as a lubricant and a shock absorber.

HA is a cushion or a buffer against inflammatory cells in the joint, in some cases, it can stimulate the knee to start producing more natural ha. Some physicians also believe that ha helps reduce pain by coating nerve endings within the joint.

One treatment, which may consist of between one and three injuections, usually offers symptom relief for four to five months, but sometimes up to one years. However, pain and stiffness will return. Most insurance companies only approve one ha injection every six months.

Side effects: there’s a 1-in-100 chance of an inflammatory reaction. However, this reaction is less common with the newer ha injections.