How Long Do Joint Injections Last?

Due to an injury or degenerative illness, you might be facing a constant struggle with aches and pains, including joint pain. Modern medicine offers a number of treatments that may provide relief. For example, your orthopedic doctor might recommend that you receive joint injections. What are joint injections, and how long can you expect your results to last? This blog post explains what you should know.

What Are Joint Injections?

The term “joint injections” may seem rather vague, and it is! It does not refer to a specific treatment. Rather, it encompasses a number of different treatments wherein a doctor precisely injects medicinal substances into a painful joint.

Here are some examples of joint injections:

• Cortisone shots: These involve the use of a corticosteroid that can reduce inflammation and pain.
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP): This treatment uses the platelet-rich part of a patient’s own blood to encourage healing at the site of damaged tissues.
• Prolotherapy and Prolozone: By injecting a mild irritant into an aching joint, it is often possible to kick start the body’s natural healing process.
• Amniotic growth factors: Amniotic growth factor injections include stem cells and growth factors that can be used to encourage healing.

How Long Do Joint Injections Last?

The results of joint injections can last varying amounts of time. Your personal results will depend on the nature of your joint condition, your metabolism, and the specific type of injections that you receive.

• Cortisone shots can provide several months of pain relief for some patients. Future injections may be less effective than the first treatment.
• Regenerative medicine joint injections, including prolotherapy, Prolozone, PRP, and amniotic growth factors, may have longer-lasting results because they seek to improve the health of tissues at the site of the pain, rather than simply mask the discomfort.

What to Expect with Joint Injections

If you are interested in receiving joint injections, visit a qualified orthopedic physician. They will learn about the nature of your pain and talk to you about your treatment options. They can give you a realistic preview of the results you might expect from various types of joint injections.

After you receive injections, it is important to keep in mind that there may be a temporary increase in inflammation and discomfort. Very often, that means that the medicine is doing its job! Usually, the pain wears off within a few days. Afterward, you may start to notice a significant decrease in pain, along with increased joint mobility.

Joint injections can be a wonderful option for people who wish to avoid or delay surgical treatments! Talk to a qualified doctor to learn more about how they might benefit you.

Meet the Practice

At the Institute for Non-Surgical Orthopedics of Fort Lauderdale, we are proud to feature a large team of medical experts, including highly skilled osteopathic and orthopedic physicians. We offer a number of different types of joint injections, including those mentioned in this blog post. If you would like to learn how we may be able to serve you, get in touch with our friendly staff at 954-563-2707.