Joint Injections Specialist

Why might I need joint injections?

Joint injections are a useful treatment option for chronic joint pain that isn’t improving using other methods.

If you have a musculoskeletal condition like arthritis or an injury to the soft tissues in a joint, Dr. Carlson is likely to begin your treatment with a program that combines rest, activity modification, medication, and physical therapies.

These treatments are often very successful in reducing pain and inflammation and helping you recover lost function. However, they don’t work for everyone, or they may be effective to begin with, then become less so as your joints deteriorate.

At this point, Dr. Carlson might suggest joint injections before considering more drastic measures like surgery.

What conditions could benefit from joint injections?

Joint injections can reduce inflammation and alleviate the pain of conditions such as:

• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Gout
• Tendinitis
• Bursitis
• Sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction

Joint injections are effective for pain in the less flexible joints (such as the facet joints in your spine and the sacroiliac joints in your pelvis) as well as your knees, wrists, shoulders, ankles, elbows, and smaller hand and foot joints.

What medications do joint injections contain?

Joint injections typically contain a combination of steroid medication and a local anesthetic. Steroids are drugs that have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. Injecting steroid medication directly into the inflamed tissues inside your joints is the most effective way to treat inflammation.

The local anesthetic in joint injections offers immediate pain relief, which breaks the cycle of chronic pain for a few hours. However, the effects of the anesthetic last only a short time, while the steroids keep working for several months.

Dr. Carlson also injects joints with PRP (platelet-rich plasma) and stem cells to boost your body’s ability to heal itself. These treatments are types of regenerative medicine, which uses cells from your body in concentrated doses to promote tissue growth and repair.

How are joint injections administered?

Joint injections are an in-office treatment, and the joint injection itself takes only a few minutes. Dr. Carlson uses image guidance technology to find the perfect location where the medication can be most effective.

If your joint pain is getting worse or not improving using other treatments, joint injections are the next step. Call Hawai'i Pain & Spine to arrange a consultation, or book an appointment online today.