INJECTION THERAPY
What is Injection Therapy?
Injection therapy is the administration of medicines, and other selected products, to intra-joint and extra-articular tissues and joint spaces by ultrasound guided injection.
What does it involve?
Injection therapy is used to treat musculoskeletal problems for short to medium term pain relief and to reduce inflammation and improve function.
Some injections are a combination of local anaesthetic to temporarily numb the area and a corticosteroid which acts as a long acting anti-inflammatory. While the anaesthetic gives a few hours of pain relief, the corticosteroid can take up to 2-3 weeks to take effect and often lasts for up to six months.
Other injections include visco-supplementation (lubricating type injection) for osteoarthritis and platelet rich plasma (PRP) for tendon tears and osteoarthritis of the knee.
Injections can be guided directly into joints or into soft tissue structures such as the bursa or near the tendon depending on the problem.
What are steroid injections and how are they used?
Some steroids occur naturally in the human body. Artificial steroids act like natural steroids to reduce inflammation. Steroid injections are often recommended for people with arthritis and other inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions where the inflammation causes pain and joint stiffness.
We always inject the steroid under ultrasound guidance to ensure correct placement of the drug. Steroid injections cannot treat the underlying cause of your condition, but they can treat the symptoms and often give rapid control of debilitating pain.
What is Orthobiologic injection therapy
Orthobiologic injection therapy is an advanced regenerative therapy that uses the patient’s own blood components to help rebuild damaged tissue. Upon blood drawing into a sterile tube (in the same manner as a standard blood test) and derived separation, a concentration of platelets is formed in the plasma.
The platelet concentrate is a source for growth factors that are vital to initiate and accelerate tissue repair and regeneration. These bioactive proteins initiate connective tissue healing, promote development of new blood vessels, and stimulate the healing process.
What is a Hyaluronic Acid (HA) Injection
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a form of ‘visco-supplementation’ used in the treatment of osteoarthritis and degenerative conditions of synovial joints.
At Pro Sports Medicine, we primarily use it for those with knee, ankle or shoulder pain in the form of Ostenil Plus.
**Please note if you haven’t been referred by a medical professional, all US guided injections will require an Initial assessment with our Sports Doctors or Physiotherapists to determine if the procedure is appropriate.
