When exposed to trauma, blood around the affected area usually increases to enable your immune system to repair the damaged tissue. Inflammation and its related symptoms – including swelling, redness, heat, and pain – are induced. While this is good, inflammation can fail to subside in some cases, causing restricted movement in the affected joint, severe pain, and damage that prevents the resumption of normal body functioning. In this post, we explore the 3 benefits of a solution to this problem: Oakhurst joint injections.
Table of Contents
What Is a Joint Injection?
Joint injections contain a corticosteroid and a local anesthetic that help relieve inflammation and pain by lowering the accumulation of immune system cells and decreasing blood flow to the affected joint. The corticosteroid helps minimize inflammation by preventing the dilation of blood vessels around the joint, while the local anesthetic provides quick pain relief.
The beneficial effects of joint injections can last for several months, allowing you to engage in an exercise program or physical therapy that can help provide relief for your condition. Moreover, joint injections also help temporarily postpone the need for surgery.
Conditions Treated by Joint Injections
Dr. Perlman, a sports medicine specialist, uses joint injections to treat almost any type of tendon, joint, or muscle pain along with other conditions that include:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Tendinitis
- Musculoskeletal injury (e.g., back and neck pain)
- Joint pain and inflammation
Joint injections can also treat chronic conditions, such as arthritis of the knee, elbow, ankle, wrist, or shoulder.
Benefits of Joint Injections
In addition to providing relief to the chronic conditions above, joint injections are also associated with other benefits that include:
- Versatile Treatment
Joint injections can be used to treat a wide range of conditions and areas such as the hip, shoulder, knee, and ankle joints. Additionally, joint injections can also help relieve several inflammatory conditions such as; bursitis, tendinitis, arthritis, plantar fasciitis, synovitis, and degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis).
- Double Merits
As a diagnostic tool, joint injections can help your doctor accurately identify the source of your pain. Double Mertis implies that undergoing joint injections can help correctly identify the affected body part and help minimize the need for further testing. Additionally, joint injections can be used as a therapeutic tool to help provide pain relief and reduce inflammation in the affected joint.
- Combinations
Although joint injections do not treat the underlying condition responsible for your joint pain, they provide the needed relief from inflammation and pain to address the underlying condition. Furthermore, the benefits of joint injections can be improved by physical therapy to increase mobility in the damaged joint.
Should You Get Joint Injections?
Therapeutic injections are usually recommended based on the immediate cause of your pain, treatment goals, and several other factors. They are most effective in treating localized swelling and pain that is concentrated in a specific joint. However, joint injections are not suitable if you:
- Breastfeed or are pregnant
- Take anticoagulants
- Had a steroid injection within the past few weeks or thrice in the last year.
- Previously had an adverse reaction to steroids
Conclusion
Dr. Zachary Perlman, DO, a sports medicine specialist at Kai Sports Medicine LLC in Oakhurst, NJ, uses joint injections to help relieve your tendinitis, joint pain, or any other musculoskeletal pain. To find out which joint injections are best for you, schedule a consultation online or call us today.