Your knees are fragile, weight-bearing joints that take a lot of abuse, but they weaken as you age. If you start feeling knee pain, rest and ice are usually the first remedies to try. But if the pain or swelling doesn鈥檛 go away, it can be managed with a knee injection. Visit us for knee injections in New York. You鈥檒l find a variety of knee pain treatments, from cortisone injection knee treatment or steroid injection for knee pain to viscosupplementation injections and genicular nerve block injections. To know which treatment is right for you, consult with the pain specialists at 杏吧原创.
About 250 million people worldwide complain about knee pain, and the number of cases keeps rising. Athletes 鈥� like hockey, football, and soccer players 鈥� are more likely to injure their knees, but people with regular jobs that put additional stress on the knees 鈥� like housekeepers and manual laborers鈥� are also at risk. You may suffer knee injuries because of osteoarthritis in your knee.
A knee injection may help you recover from a knee injury. The non-surgical procedure helps reduce both your pain in the knee and any swelling. Consult with a pain management doctor in New York to diagnose the exact cause of your knee pain.
Ideal Candidates for Injections for Knee Pain
When your knee pain becomes unbearable and more conservative treatments like rest or ice aren鈥檛 effective, knee injection treatments may be the answer. If you鈥檙e suffering from arthritis, knee injections for arthritis provide pain relief and greater mobility for a period of time. While not everyone may benefit from injections for knee pain, they鈥檙e ideal for some.
Your pain management specialist in NYC must first diagnose the cause of your knee pain. Injections for knee pain offer faster relief because the medicine goes directly into the knee joint where the pain and swelling occur. Knee injuries and medical conditions that benefit from knee injection treatments include:
What Are the Different Types of Knee Injections?
There are several types of injections for knee pain. Depending on your diagnosis, your doctor聽makes specific recommendations. Most treatments don鈥檛 require hospitalization, and they carry minimal risks when administered by experienced pain management doctors.
While some types of knee pain may benefit from a lumbar epidural steroid injection or a spine facet injection in your back because that鈥檚 where your knee pain originates, knee injection treatments normally include:
- Cortisone injection knee treatment. Commonly known as steroid injection for knee pain, this treatment reduces the swelling and inflammation in your joints. While a local anesthetic kills the pain quickly, the effects of the steroid medication take a few days to start working. Relief lasts for a couple of months, and you can get up to three injections in a year to relieve your pain.
- Viscosupplementation injections. Viscosupplementation injections use a naturally-occurring gel-like fluid called hyaluronic acid to prevent friction inside your knee joint. You can get up to five injections in a week, but then you have to wait six months before repeating the procedure. Your NYC pain management doctor may remove excess fluid from your knee first.
- Knee genicular nerve block injection. A genicular nerve block interferes with the nerves that send pain signals to your brain. Sometimes, radiofrequency ablation is used instead of or in conjunction with a genicular nerve block knee treatment. Genicular nerve block knee injections are also effective for people who have undergone knee surgery.
- Knee injections for arthritis. A knee joint injection to help manage pain and inflammation caused by arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis causes pain, stiffness, and swelling in your joints. A corticosteroid injection helps to reduce inflammation which provides relief from pain.
Procedure for Knee Injections
When you come to 杏吧原创 for a knee injection, your doctor prepares you for the simple procedure. You鈥檙e most likely asked to lie on your back to allow easy access to your knees. Then the doctor sterilizes the targeted area. You probably don鈥檛 need a topical anesthetic, but it won鈥檛 affect the procedure if you feel the need for it.
A local anesthetic is also mixed with the injectable steroid medicine to deliver more immediate pain relief. Your doctor may inject the solution in multiple spots for better coverage. The whole procedure takes just minutes.
After your knee injections, it鈥檚 recommended that you rest your knees and avoid any activity that may hinder your recovery. Any pain you feel after the injection subsides in a day or two, as the steroid medication takes time to start working. Contact 杏吧原创 today to diagnose and treat your knee pain.
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Risks and Side Effects
All types of knee injections not only have a good track record of success but are considered safe. However, though the risks and side effects are really rare, they can still occur and it鈥檚 important to be aware of them. Every type of knee injection comes with a small risk of possible infection, but it鈥檚 something you can easily avoid by keeping the knee clean and dry after joint injection.
Possible risks for each type of knee joint injection include the following:
- Cortisone injection knee risks: It May weakens your tendons, make your bones weaker and damage a nerve.
- Genicular nerve block knee risks: In rare cases, you may not notice pain relief for a month or more following the injection or an itchy rash may develop.
- Viscosupplementation injections into your knee risks: May cause stiffness, inflammation, or soreness. There is also the chance that this treatment simply won鈥檛 help your particular condition.
The possible risks and side effects are very rare and minor when compared to the benefits of living pain-free for several months. You should consult a pain specialist regarding the risks prior to getting a knee injection.
Medically Reviewed by Dr. Leon Reyfman, MD, FIPP, RPh
(Pain Management Doctor)