Joint pain is becoming more common than ever, especially in adults. While acute pain gets better on its own with some home remedies, chronic pain can severely affect daily life. Sometimes, it is not even manageable with pain relievers and physical therapy. Luckily, joint injections seem like a viable option for pain relief because the medicine is directly delivered to the joint and causes a long-lasting effect. But should you consider it? Read this article to find out what to expect and when to consider steroid injections for joint pain. Visit the best Pain Management Clinic in Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness or log on to www.doralhw.org.
Causes of joint pain
Joint pain can occur in any joint of the body, from the shoulders to the ankles. Usually, joint pain occurs as you get older because your joints start to deteriorate. However, injuries can speed up the process. Many different conditions lead to pain in your joints, but sometimes, it is only normal wear and tear from years of use. The most common conditions that lead to joint pain are:
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Bursitis
- Tendinitis
- Gout
- Viral infections
When to consider joint injections?
You should consider joint injections if:
- Severe pain limits your daily life:
When joint pain occurs from a degenerative condition like osteoarthritis, it will worsen (from mild joint pain) over time. So, these injections can be considered when you’re struggling with moderate to severe joint pain that affects your daily activities. These joint injections can provide significant pain relief and make it easier for you to perform daily tasks like walking, climbing stairs, or getting up from a chair.
- Symptoms don’t respond to other treatments:
If your pain doesn’t respond to other treatments like over-the-counter pain relievers, physical therapy, and lifestyle modifications, then this can be a good option to improve your symptoms. It needs to be administered directly into painful joints to provide precision, long-lasting pain relief.
- You can’t take oral pain medication:
While oral pain medication is the first-line treatment for joint pain, some people can’t take these medications due to stomach or kidney issues. Injections can directly deliver the medicine to the joint, bypass the digestive system, and lower the risk of side effects.
- Delay the surgical procedure:
In severe cases, surgery might be the last option to treat damaged joints. However, these injections can delay or even eliminate surgical intervention because they offer long-lasting pain relief.
What to expect?
Before getting joint injections, make sure you discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor to know whether joint injections are right for you or not based on your medical history or symptoms. Generally, joint injections are safe for most people and each injection only takes a few minutes in the office.
This injection is performed in the office setting, where doctors use ultrasound or X-rays to guide the needle to the right location for the medication to be most effective. To prevent infection, don’t forget to keep the area sterile and apply numbing medicine to numb the area. In most cases, people can expect to go back to normal activity within a few days after the injection.
In some cases, patients are advised to slowly start vigorous activity for a week or two because the steroid can weaken some joints like the knee tendons. Keep in mind that these injections are not a cure but a way to temporarily ease pain and give inflammation relief.
Joint injections are a good option for pain control when your pain is severe and doesn’t get better with other non-surgical treatments. However, it is not a permanent cure for joint pain. It only provides temporary relief from pain and inflammation. Make sure you discuss with your doctor the benefits and risks of joint injections to know if it’s good for you or not.
Need help with joint pain, visit our pain management clinic in Brooklyn to get professional medical help. Call us to book your appointment now!!!! If your pain needs professional assistance, visit our pain management clinic in Brooklyn today or call to get a consultation. Our location at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212 is well-served by public transportation, including many bus routes, and the subway line. Visit our website at https://doralhw.org/department/pain-management/ or contact us on +1-718-367-2555 for additional details.
