Pain, joints & skin
Joint injections
We provide joint injections in the office for painful joints, most often knees and shoulders. A steroid injection reduces inflammation and can give useful relief for weeks to months. It works best as a window to do rehabilitation in, rather than as a treatment on its own.
Come in if you have
- Persistent knee, shoulder, hip or hand joint pain
- Pain limiting sleep or daily activity despite other treatment
- Osteoarthritis flaring up
- Shoulder pain with a limited range of movement
- You have been offered an injection elsewhere and want to discuss it first
What happens at your visit
- We examine the joint and confirm an injection is the right thing — sometimes it is not.
- We explain what it should achieve, how long it typically lasts, and the risks.
- The injection itself takes a few minutes. Most people find it much less unpleasant than expected.
- We arrange follow-up, because what you do in the weeks after determines how long the benefit lasts.
What an injection actually does
A steroid injection reduces inflammation in and around the joint. That reduces pain, often substantially, for a period measured in weeks to months.
What it does not do is repair the joint. Cartilage that has worn is still worn. Understanding that up front avoids the disappointment of expecting a cure and getting a reprieve.
Use the window
This is the part that gets missed. The weeks after an injection, when pain is low and movement is easier, are the best opportunity you will have to strengthen the muscles supporting the joint.
People who use that window do considerably better long term than people who just enjoy the pain relief and return to the same pattern. We will set that up as part of the plan, not as an afterthought.
When an injection is not the answer
We will tell you if we think it is not appropriate — for example if the pain is coming from somewhere other than the joint, if there is any suggestion of infection, or if the problem is mechanical in a way an injection will not help.
Being offered an injection is not the same as needing one.
Limits
Repeated steroid injections into the same joint carry risk: over time they can weaken cartilage and nearby tendon. So we space them out and limit how many go into one joint per year.
If a joint keeps needing injection, the useful response is to review the whole plan — including whether specialist or surgical assessment is now the better route.
Afterwards
Take it easy for a day or two, but do not immobilise the joint. Some soreness is normal. Get in touch if the joint becomes hot, swollen and increasingly painful after a couple of days, or if you develop a fever — infection is rare but needs prompt attention.
Common questions
- How long does it last?
- Typically several weeks to a few months, though it varies a lot. Some people get very little benefit and some get many months. We will be honest that it is not predictable in advance.
- Does it hurt?
- Less than most people expect. We use local anesthetic and the injection takes moments. Some soreness for a day or two afterwards is normal, and occasionally pain briefly increases before it improves.
- How many can I have?
- There are limits. Repeated steroid injections into the same joint can weaken cartilage and tendon over time, so we space them and cap how many per year. If a joint needs injecting frequently, that is a signal to reconsider the overall plan.
- Is this instead of surgery?
- Not usually — more often it is a way to manage symptoms and delay surgery, or to confirm where pain is coming from. If a joint is severely worn, an injection buys time rather than fixing it, and we will say so.
This page explains how we care for this condition at our office. It is general information, not medical advice for your specific situation — please talk to us about your own care.
Ready to get this looked at?
Call us or send a request and we will get you in — often the same or next day.