Osteoarthritis is among the most common causes of hip pain. As a degenerative condition, osteoarthritis causes pain as the two bones of a joint grind on one another. Nearly every adult will experience osteoarthritis at some point. Some of us experience it in the hips. But there is a good treatment known as hip joint injection.
Hip joint injections are minimally invasive and fairly effective for most patients. The injections use a combination of medications to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. As for how long pain relief lasts, it varies from one patient to the next.
Two Types of Injections
We categorize hip joint injections into two types: diagnostic and therapeutic. A diagnostic injection isn’t intended to provide long-term pain relief. Rather, it is intended to confirm the fact that a patient’s hip truly is the source of their pain. If the injection cannot relieve the patient’s pain, there is a good chance that its source is another part of the lower back or pelvis area.
In cases where a diagnostic injection provides immediate pain relief, a patient is encouraged to engage in routine activities that normally cause pain. This is a good way of verifying the correctness of a diagnosis by the doctor.
A therapeutic injection is intended to provide pain relief. In the short term, an anesthetic numbs the general area to provide immediate relief. Meanwhile, a corticosteroid works on reducing inflammation. As inflammation is reduced and kept at bay, long-term pain relief is experienced.
Injection Therapies for Osteoarthritis
Joint injection therapies are ideal for osteoarthritis because of the nature of the condition itself. Osteoarthritis is the result of lost or worn cartilage in a joint. Without the necessary cushioning cartilage provides, the bones grind on one another as a person moves. This is what causes the pain. It also causes inflammation.
Normally, inflammation is a good thing. It signals the body of damage in need of repair. But with little to no cartilage to work with, it is difficult for a person’s body to repair the damage of osteoarthritis. Therefore, inflammation is more of a problem than a help. Reducing inflammation can help reduce the pain.
The unfortunate thing about osteoarthritis is that it is degenerative. As time marches on, whatever cartilage remains slowly wears away until there is nothing left. At that point, the only remaining options are pain management and joint replacement.
Hip Replacement Is Major Surgery
As you probably know, hip replacement surgery is a major procedure. It is extremely complicated. It’s all so risky and requires an extensive recovery time. Patients electing to go down that route can certainly do so. But there are others who would prefer not to subject themselves to it. For them, hip joint injections are ideal.
Hip joint injections are minimally invasive. If you can handle other types of injections, you should not have a problem. In addition to being minimally invasive, the injections are fairly straightforward from a procedural standpoint.
In the doctor’s office, you would lie on an exam table with the targeted hip exposed. Your doctor would use medical imaging – likely fluoroscopy – to guide the needle to the right location. Once properly placed, medication is injected into the joint. The joint is immediately bathed in a local anesthetic and a corticosteroid.
Hip joint injections represent just one of the many pain management therapies we offer at Lone Star Pain Medicine. If you would like to know more about them, particularly whether they are right for you, make an appointment to see one of our pain medicine doctors.
