Joint Injections in Fountain Valley CA

Learn about the most common types of joint injections and what they can do for you from our Fountain Valley CA chiropractic clinic. If joint pain has been causing you pain and controlling your life, this does not need to be the case any longer. Coast Physical Medicine can offer life-changing joint injections in Fountain Valley that will bring you freedom from your pain. With joint injections, our goal will be to alleviate pain and help increase the patient’s range of motion. The most common types of joint injections include:

Steroid injections
Steroid injections, also known as corticosteroid injections, work to reduce swelling and inflammation in the joint. These injections are commonly used in the knee, hip, and shoulder to relieve pain and swelling. They can also be used to treat pain in other joints, including the elbow, wrist, and ankle. Steroid injections typically bring relief to the patient within 24-48 hours of the injection. This relief can last between 6-12 weeks. These types of injections are most effective after the first treatment. They cannot be given too frequently, as this can lead to weak structures surrounding the joint.

Hyaluronic Acid Injections
Hyaluronic acid injections can be used to treat knee pain caused by osteoarthritis, which is most often found in the knee. This is a natural lubricating component that can be found in the lining of your joints. As we age, our bodies produce this substance at lower levels. Patients who suffer from osteoarthritis experience extremely low levels, which leads to even more friction and pain. These injections are actually the only FDA-approved viscosupplementation for use on the knee. Viscosupplementation is a procedure in which a thick fluid called hyaluronate is injected into the knee joint.

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What Are the Main Causes of Joint Pain In Fountain Valley CA?

Joint pain is very common, especially as the body ages. In a national survey, about one-third of adults reported having joint pain within 30 days. Knee pain was the most common complaint followed by shoulder and hip pain. However, joint pain can affect every part of your body, from your ankles and feet to your shoulders and hands.

One of the main causes of joint pain is arthritis. The two main types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. This happens when the cartilage that serves as a cushion breaks down, and this process can deform the joints over time, causing pain, inflammation, and fluid buildup as the immune system attacks the membrane that lines the joints. Other causes of joint pain include:

• Bursitis
• Lupus
• Gout
• Infectious diseases like mumps, influenza, and hepatitis
• Chondromalacia of the patella (breakdown of the cartilage in the kneecap)
• An injury
• Tendinitis
• Infection of the bone or joint
• Overuse of a joint
• Cancer
• Fibromyalgia
• Osteoporosis
• Sarcoidosis
• Rickets

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What Are the Benefits of Joint Injections?

If you are suffering from joint pain, joint injections can provide relief from the pain and inflammation you are experiencing. With these injections, we accomplish this because we reduce blood flow and decrease the accumulation of immune cells in the affected joint area.

Not only do the injections provide immediate pain relief, but they decrease inflammation by limiting the dilation of blood vessels around the joint for long-term pain relief. The benefits of joint injections can last for many months to come, which will allow patients to participate in physical therapy and exercise programs as they normally would. Most patients are able to experience pain relief for two to six months after peripheral intra-articular injection.

Beyond these benefits, joint injections can actually help a doctor to identify the underlying cause of your pain. If a joint injection was successful in providing relief from your symptoms, this gives us some insight into the part of the body that has been the most affected. If the injection did not improve the symptoms, we might need to consider an alternative cause of the pain.

One of the most amazing parts about joint injections is the number of areas and conditions they can help treat. Joint injections are most commonly performed in the knee, hip, shoulder, and ankle joints. Other areas that can be treated include the elbow, wrist, and sacroiliac joints. These injections can provide relief from the discomfort associated with inflammatory conditions like arthritis, bursitis, degenerative joint disease, tendonitis, gout, synovitis, and plantar fasciitis.

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How to Know if You Are a Candidate for Joint Injections

The primary patients we will recommend joint injections for are those who are experiencing localized pain and swelling that is concentrated in a specific joint and those who are not responding to medicine or other conservative treatments.

However, if your pain is spread over a wider area, joint injections might not be the best treatment for you. They are also not ideal for patients who are taking anticoagulants, have previously had an adverse reaction to steroids, have had a steroid injection in the last few weeks or through the last year, or those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Patients who are able to receive these injections and who have joint pain are able to experience immense relief when they are finally free from the pain that has ailed them.

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If you are interested in learning more about joint injections and how they can provide relief from your joint pain, call Coast Physical Medicine at (714) 963-0955.