Joint Injections Specialist

Joint injections are both a diagnostic tool and an effective treatment for chronic pain. At Alliance Spine Associates, LLC in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, the expert pain management professionals bring you a full spectrum of joint injections for knee, hip, shoulder, and spine pain. Book your appointment online today or call the office to schedule a visit with the pain management experts.

What are joint injections?

Joint injections are local injections of medication into large or small joints. The most common areas of joint injections are the hips, shoulders, and knees. But many people with chronic back or neck pain will need facet joint injections in the tiny joint pairs in the spine or the sacroiliac joints that link the spine to the pelvis.

Joint injections usually include an anesthetic, which numbs the treatment area, and a steroid that reduces inflammation. This blend of medications gives you immediate and long-term pain relief. Sometimes, doctors might recommend platelet-rich plasma or gel injections (Hyalgan or Synvisc) to relieve chronic inflammation.

When might I need joint injections?

Joint injections treat chronic pain, especially pain that doesn’t improve with conservative approaches like physical therapy. If you have knee pain, hip pain, back pain, neck pain, or any other ongoing pain that isn’t responding to your current treatment plan, joint injections could help.

For many people with long-lasting pain, joint injections offer pain relief that helps them avoid surgery, long recovery times, and narcotic (opioid) dependence.

Joint injections can also help diagnose the cause of your pain and identify the specific area causing your pain.

What can I expect after joint injections?

After joint injections, you might feel sore and numb in the treatment area. This might wear off within a few hours when your pain usually returns. You could experience a spike in pain until your steroid medication gradually takes effect in a few days.

You can resume your normal activities whenever you wish. But it’s best to wait until your anesthetic wears off and you have feeling back in the treated area, usually on the next day after the procedure.

After your treatment, you can expect pain relief lasting from several days to a few months or longer. If joint injections are a practical solution for your pain, you can have repeat treatments several times a year.

You can’t have too-frequent joint injections because high levels of steroids increase your risk of bone thinning (osteoporosis) and fractures. But other treatments, like gel injections, radiofrequency ablation, spinal cord stimulation, intrathecal pain pumps, and minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD), can provide long-lasting pain relief.

If you’re living with unbearable neck, back, shoulder, or other pain, you deserve effective pain relief. Call the Alliance Spine Associates, LLC office or book online today.