About this service
What you need to know.
Clear information first, with time to discuss your individual needs during your appointment.
Steroid injections are used to treat pain in various joints of the body where inflammation is felt to be the cause of this pain e.g. bursitis, arthritis and tendinitis. It is also provided for hypertrophic or keloid scars.
They usually start to work after a few days and you may need to avoid heavy exercise for one to two weeks afterwards.
Steroid injections are not suitable for everyone - they may not be suitable for you if you are pregnant, or if you have any of the following conditions: glaucoma or a family history of glaucoma, any infection but especially an infection close to the site of the proposed injection, broken skin or a rash at the site of the proposed injection, a tendency to bleed more readily as a result of illness or being on blood thinning medication, surgical metalwork at the site of the proposed injection, for example a joint replacement, screws or plates, being due for upcoming surgery or having had recent surgery, diabetes, epilepsy, a recent heart attack, ocular herpes simplex, if you have a suppressed immune system or have a condition where a suppressed immune system may be undesirable e.g. tuberculosis or cancer.
Ultrasound Guided Injections are available. Live ultrasound guidance can be added to your injection appointment to help identify the target area and guide the needle in real time. This allows more precise placement of the medication.
Please note we cannot provide spine injections which require hospital imaging guidance such as those for spinal osteoarthritis, facet joint, disc bulges or other spinal injections.
Although occasionally an injection can resolve pain completely, much more often it just provides temporary or partial relief, although it can usually be repeated in future if required. The success depends on how severe the underlying condition is - the more advanced it is, the less likely the injection is to work, and it may not even help at all. In this case, a scan or specialist review is usually recommended. Let us know and we will help guide you on this.
If you would like to check suitability, or if you would like to book in for your injection, please contact us.
