Sometimes when you’ve had an injury that just doesn’t get better with rest, avoidance and rehabilitation, it might require an injection into the area to reduce the inflammation.
This can give some relief from swelling and pain that allows you to get on with rehabilitating and improving the symptoms so that you can heal better.
The doctors at GS Health are experienced in providing injections to areas required for the following conditions
- Supraspinatus tendonitis and bursitis
- Golfers and tennis elbow (medial and lateral epicondylitis)
- Olecranon bursitis
- Mild carpal tunnel syndrome (without weakness or muscle wasting)
- De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis
- Trochanteric bursitis
- Osteoarthritis of the knee
- Achilles tendonitis
- Plantar fasciitis
- Alopecia areata
- Keloid and hypertrophic scarring
- Discoid eczema and lichen simplex chronicus
- Cystic acne
- Occipital neuralgia
What are the risks?
As with any injection where the skin is pierced there is a risk of;
- Bleeding
- Bruising
- Infection
If into a joint the risk is an infection of that joint
The steroid can also have side effects such as;
- For skin injections (scars/acne/alopecia areata)
- Lightening of the skin in that area (when used as a skin injection)
- The hollowness of the skin (if used repetitively and too h2 a dose)
- Thinning of the bone near the joint injection
- Pain increases temporarily (usually to do with increased volume in an area)
- Tendon weakening (with repeated injections usually)
- Temporary increase in blood glucose levels
What’s the procedure?
Depending on your reason for needing it, determines the exact procedure. But generally, the principles are the same.
- Your doctor will explain the risks and the procedure involved and make sure you understand and consent to the procedure
- The correct dose of steroid is measured up and diluted for your medical needs
- This is often mixed with a local anaesthetic
- The area is examined again, entry points marked, and then the area is cleaned with alcohol or chlorhexidine solution
- Once the area is dry, the injection site will not be touched again
- The needle is inserted into the area required, and the correct dose of steroid given
- Following this, we ask that you remain in the waiting room for 15 minutes as some people feel a bit lightheaded after any needles
- We review you in 2-6 weeks depending on what we’re treating
What do the injections cost?
The cost of the procedure varies from $65 for more complex procedures like joint injections and plantar fasciitis or tendonitis to $35 for simpler skin-based injections. This is on top of the consultation fee.