Fluoroscopic Guided Steroid Injection
PAIN TREATMENT
Fluoroscopic Guided Steroid Injection (Knees): Pain Management
Stubborn knee pain? If your chronic knee pain hasn’t responded to rest, medication or physical therapy, non-surgical fluoroscopic guided steroid injections may help. This therapeutic treatment delivers steroids directly to the troublesome area, easing painful inflammation and stiffness. Steroid injections are particularly effective for knees, but they’re also used to treat shoulders, hips and spines.
How Fluoroscopy-Assisted Joint Injection Works
Steroid injections deliver a powerful inflammatory directly into the affected knee joint to reduce swelling and inflammation associated with arthritis.[1] Corticosteroid injections, combined with advanced imaging technology, allow pain specialists to treat painful inflammation right at its source rather than prescribing it orally.
During the procedure, a fluoroscopy—a live X-ray— is used to direct the needle to the exact spot requiring treatment within your knee joint.[2] Once your provider is confident the needle is in the target zone, the medication is released into the joint, coating it with a steroid to relieve pain, redness, swelling, stiffness and irritation.[2]
The injection contains a corticosteroid that reduces inflammation and a local anesthetic that provides immediate pain relief. The entire process is quick, often taking less than 30 minutes, and is usually performed on an outpatient basis.
Most patients experience significant relief within a few days, and the effects can last for weeks or even months, depending on the severity of their condition and how their bodies respond to the treatment.
Conditions Treated with Intra-Articular Corticosteroid Injection
If you’ve been dealing with persistent neck pain caused by cervical facet joint issues and have tried treatments like physical therapy, medications, or injections without lasting relief, cervical facet radiofrequency neurotomy could be an excellent next step to address your pain finally.
Cervical facet denervation is deal to treat specific neck pain causes, including:
- Rheumatoid arthritis of the knee [2]
- Knee bursitis [2]
- Osteoarthritis of the knee [2]
- Psoriatic arthritis of the knee [2]
- Knee tendinitis [2]
- Meniscus tear [3]
- Sprained knee [3
- Baker cyst [4]
If knee pain limits your mobility or daily activities, a fluoroscopic-guided steroid injection might be just what you need to get moving again.
Benefits of Image-Guided Steroid Injections for Knees
Corticosteroid injections deliver anti-inflammatory medication directly to the affected knee joint. They are used to treat multiple knee joint issues that need treatment to reduce swelling, redness, stiffness and pain.
Here are some of the top benefits of fluoroscopic guided steroid injections:
- Precision: Fluoroscopy ensures the medication goes exactly where it’s needed.
- Minimally invasive: Avoids the risks and recovery time of surgery.
- Fast relief: Many patients feel better immediately or within days.
- Long-lasting results: Relief can last for months.
- Versatile: Works well for a variety of inflammatory knee conditions.
- Combined treatment efforts: Steroid injections can be given with hyaluronic acid, adding more significant pain relief and lubrication to your knee joint
- Delayed disease progression: Corticosteroids can slow the progression of arthritis [4]
For those with knee pain that hasn’t responded to over-the-counter medications or physical therapy, this guided shot may allow you to participate in your own life again fully.
Knee Pain Relief with Fluoroscopy-Assisted Joint Injection
Painful knee conditions can significantly impact your daily life by making even simple things like walking or standing challenging due to pain and inflammation. If you’ve tried home remedies and conventional treatments prescribed by your doctor with little success, nonsurgical options like fluoroscopic-guided steroid injections may be just what the doctor ordered.
Pain management takes a comprehensive approach to treating knee pain. Interventional procedures like steroid injections are combined with lifestyle changes, medication and alternative therapies such as meditation, yoga, massage therapy and acupuncture. Together, this whole-body strategy treats the symptoms and the underlying cause of pain and helps improve physical and mental well-being.
Living with chronic knee pain can be a history of steroid injections. Contact a pain management clinic near you if you’re ready to kick your knee pain to the curb. Image-guided steroid injections could be the key to getting you back to the activities you love.
Resources:
- Cortisone Shots: How They Work and Side Effects. Cleveland Clinic [Internet]. Published 2024. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/cortisone-shots-steroid-injections
- Mayo Clinic Staff. Cortisone shots. Mayo Clinic [Internet]. Published 2017. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cortisone-shots/about/pac-20384794
- Roberts D. Knee joint injection (technique) | Radiology Reference Article. Radiopaedia [Internet]. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available from: https://radiopaedia.org/articles/knee-joint-injection-technique?lang=us
- Malhotra G, Hansford BG, Felcher C, Wuerfel KA, Yablon CM. Fluoroscopic-guided procedures of the lower extremity. Skeletal Radiol [Internet]. 2023;52(5):855-874. doi:10.1007/s00256-022-04139-w Accessed December 20, 2024. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9362560/