Joint injections come in many different flavors and if you have ever talked to your doctor about your joint pain, they have most likely come up. But do they help? What can you expect from them? And which kind should you get? To learn more keep reading and check out the video above.
Joint injections are one of the many tools primary care doctors, rheumatologists and orthopedists have to help you with your joint pain. In previous years, the only option would be a steroid injection but these days we have hyaluronic acid injections, platelet rich plasma (PRP) and even stem cells. But be careful! Only steroid injections and hyaluronic acid injections are approved. PRP and Stem Cell injections are gaining popularity but still lack data proving their efficacy. How the PRP and Stem Cells are obtained is not standardized, which makes studying them very difficult.
We all want options to treat joint pain. Taking acetaminophen or ibuprofen or similar medications daily have their own risks and surgery may not be an option for many of us.
But in our rush to find viable options, many have turned to unproven injections for quick relief instead of the tried and true approach utilizing physical and occupational therapy. Joint injections have a role in the treatment of arthritis and joint pain but unfortunately isn’t the miracle cure many are hoping for. For more information, make sure to watch the video above and have your questions ready for your meeting with your own doctor.
In good health,