Pain Management
Intra-Articular Joint Injections
Injections into joints are intra-articular injections. If you have a swollen or painful joint, your doctor may inject a steroid medication into the joint. Sometimes your doctor may inject a local anesthetic (numbing medicine) along with the steroid. The steroid injection is given to decrease pain and swelling in the joint. It varies between people; improvement usually starts within 1 to 2 days. If helpful, the injection usually lasts from a few weeks to several months. The steroid medications are related to cortisone, which is produced by the body itself.
Spinal Injection Procedures
Spinal injection procedures are performed in order to both diagnose and treat different causes of back pain. There are multiple types of spinal injection procedures; the most commonly performed procedures include epidural injections, selective nerve root injections, and facet joint injections. The type of injection you receive is determined by your doctor based on the pattern and distribution of your symptoms and the results of other imaging studies such as lumbar spine CT or MRI.
Vertebroplasty
Vertebroplasty is an invasive treatment for the relief of back pain that has been caused by the compression or fracture of a vertebral body in either the thoracic or lumbar spine. Vertebroplasty involves placing bone cement into the fractured vertebral body.
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