Joint Injection

Joint injection is effective in controlling pain and inflammation when treating multiple musculoskeletal conditions.

Available at the
Maisonneuve clinic

About the Exam

Joint injection is a technique where your radiologist injects either an anti-inflammatory (cortisone-based) or lubricating (DurolaneMD or SynviscMD) product into the joint. This short intervention is performed with the help of x-rays (fluoroscopy) and we confirm the correct intra-articular position using an iodinated contrast medium.
This exam takes approximately 15 to 30 minutes and enables the effective relief of joint or periarticular pain caused by osteoarthritis or inflammation.

Download the documentation

Preparation

Make sure you have recent x-rays (within the 3 preceding months) of the joint targeted by the medication injection. What if you don’t have any? Not to worry, our team will take x-ray images the day of your exam.

Contraindication:

Do not undergo this exam if you are pregnant.
If you are allergic to iodine, inform the radiologist who will be performing the exam (in fact, the procedure can often be completed without an iodinated contrast medium).

Exam Process

Our staff will guide you and help you get settled on the exam table according to the location where the intervention will take place.

The targeted area will be disinfected with an alcohol-based product and covered with a sterile drape.

Afterwards, the radiologist will use a local anesthetic on the area and then proceed to inject the iodinated contrast agent in order to clearly identify the position of the needle.

Finally, the radiologist will inject the medication and take one or several x-ray images.

Once the injection is completed, the technologist will clean the area and apply a bandage before showing you back to the waiting room.

What You May Experience

You may experience slight discomfort when the local anesthetic is injected, but the joint injection itself is not painful.

After the Exam

We ask that you wait 15 minutes after the exam before leaving our clinic in case of an allergic reaction to the injected substances. Don’t worry: after the injection, it is possible that you will feel more pain than usual for about 24 to 72 hours. To lessen the pain, we recommend that you ice the area for 20 minutes every 2 hours. Repeat this process 3 or 4 times, as needed.