Ultrasound-Guided Injection Enquiry Form
Building on the skills Tom has as a Musculoskeletal Sonographer, he is also able to offer Ultrasound-Guided injections in-clinic. This is the skill of performing an injection, usually in the form of steroid and/or local anaesthetic, whilst simultaneously Ultrasound scanning. This means that it is possible to visualise in real time the structure being injected, the position of the injection needle within the tissue, and the exact placement of the medication being injected. Using Ultrasound guidance means that the injections can be much more accurate, more comfortable for the patient and more effective.
Injections are most used in two scenarios. The first being when a patient’s condition has not improved adequately following conservative management. An injection can help stimulates a large pain-relieving and healing response within the affected area to kickstart improvement. The second being when the condition is severely painful and the patient’s day to day life is severely affected. In this case, the injection can be very effective in giving immediate pain relief, which can then allow the patient to undergo a course of physiotherapy more easily.
Corticosteroid injections are performed most commonly. The steroid is a strong anti-inflammatory drug that is injected directly into, or around, the problematic area, which stimulates a huge painkilling and healing response. These are normally injected in combination with local anaesthetic.
We also offer a type of injections that are highly effective in helping to manage arthritic joint pain, called Ostenil and Durolane injections. These products act as a synthetic lubricant within the degenerative joint and can give long-term relief. These are very effective in joints that are not quite severe enough to require surgery and can be used in conjunction with physiotherapy management to maintain and prolong joint health.
The use of anaesthetic injections in isolation, without steroid, can also be incredibly useful for diagnostic purposes. In the rare occasion that standard physiotherapy testing and Diagnostic Ultrasound scanning have been unable to determine the structure causing your pain, an injection of a small amount of local anaesthetic into the localised area potentially generating your pain can give specific diagnosis and inform the need for further injection in that area.
Alongside these injection services, we are also able to offer a similar type of intervention called fenestration. This is the use of an injection needle to gentle peck around the target tissue and bone. A small amount of local anaesthetic is also injected at the same time so the process is not painful. This is highly effective for tendon problems, especially where they attach the bone, and if they have not settled well with Radial Shockwave therapy, which we normally use as a first line of management.
As with Diagnostic Ultrasound scans, you do not need to be referred via your GP or physiotherapist for an Ultrasound-Guided injection but you will be assessed as part of the session to ensure you are suitable for it, and that other management strategies would not be better for you.
