Injections Specialist

What are injections?

Injections involve placing a potent medication directly into a painful area of your body. Oral pain relievers, topical pain products, and other methods of pain relief can all be quite effective, but only for a few hours.

Injections offer a longer-lasting solution because stronger medications target the specific place where your pain originates. They offer many advantages, including powerful pain relief with fast onset time.

What are the options for injections?

There are many different types of injections, depending on your type of pain and where it occurs. The main options are anesthetics, corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid, and precision medicine.

Anesthetics 

Anesthetics provide instant numbing when injected into a painful nerve or group of nerves. This injection, called a nerve block, lasts for a week or two on average, but may last longer. 

Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids decrease inflammation, which then lessens your pain. In many cases, injections include a blend of a corticosteroid and anesthetic. This approach can yield pain relief for at least a few months.

Hyaluronic acid 

Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring gel that can lubricate worn and damaged joints. Dr. Fenkell can inject hyaluronic acid into an arthritic knee joint, where it works much like cartilage to make movement more comfortable. Relief can last for as long as six months. 

Precision medicine

Precision medicine uses natural biological substances, like platelets from your blood (platelet-rich plasma or PRP) or cellular tissues, to increase and accelerate your body’s innate recovery powers. While precision medicine mainly focuses on tissue healing, it also offers effective pain relief in many cases.

Dr. Fenkell can explain the different injection options based on your particular condition or injury, and then help you choose the treatment path that’s best for you. 

Can injections help with my pain?

Injections might be a good option if you’re recovering from a sports injury or have acute or chronic pain affecting your hips, knees, shoulders, elbows, ankles, or other areas. 

Whether your goal is easing pain so you can have physical therapy, avoid surgery, or simply feel better, injections may help.

How do injections work?

You lie on a treatment table and Dr. Fenkell cleans the treatment site and determines the ideal needle insertion point. He typically uses ultrasound guidance to position your medication in the ideal place. 

You generally feel a sting with the initial needle insertion, but your discomfort recedes almost immediately. The treatment process is usually comfortable, and you rest in a recovery area for around 30 minutes. During this time, the medical team monitors you closely to make sure the injection took effect and that you don’t experience any side effects. 

Injections are outpatient procedures, but you do receive sedation for this treatment. So plan for a ride home since you can’t drive afterward.

Want to learn more about injections? Call Blake Fenkell, or click on the provided scheduling link now.