What are joint and soft tissue injections?
Joint and soft tissue injections are injections of medications and anesthetics into a joint such as your knee or elbow or a soft tissue space such as the space between a tendon and a bone. The injections are used to help decrease pain and reduce inflammation so you can heal faster and undertake physical therapy or other activities without significant pain. The most common medications used are corticosteroids to relieve inflammation and lidocaine to relieve pain.
What conditions can these injections treat?
Dr. Stark uses joint and soft tissue injections to treat a range of conditions, including:
osteoarthritis
synovitis
bursitis
frozen shoulder
tendinitis
carpal tunnel syndrome
fasciitis
ganglion cysts
neuromas
rheumatoid arthritis
How are the injections performed?
First, your pain will be evaluated during a physical exam. Dr. Stark will ask you about your symptoms, including when they first began and what types of activities cause symptoms to occur. He may also ask you to perform a series of range-of-motion exercises to pinpoint the source of the pain so he can determine where an injection should be placed. Once the examination is complete and you've decided to move forward with the injection, the site will be thoroughly cleaned and a topical or local anesthetic may be used to numb the area and decrease any discomfort. The injection itself is brief, with medication injected into the space near the affected joint or soft tissue that's causing symptoms.
How many injections will I need?
That depends in part on the extent of the injury and how well your body responds to the injections and performs necessary healing. Some patients need only one injection, but some may need additional treatments to prolong the effects of the medication and enable longer periods of healing.
