Cortisone
These injections are great for quick, temporary relief. The cortisone acts as an excellent anti-inflammatory and can be placed directly into the affected joint, tendon, ligament, or muscle. There are very few side-effects from these injections; however, they can cause elevated glucose readings in patients with diabetes. Please check with your primary care physician prior to making an appointment for cortisone injection.
Visco-supplementation/Hyaluronic Acid
These injections are a series of shots that help lubricate the joint and provide pain relief for knee arthritis, lasting 6 months or longer. Patients require pre-approval from their insurance company prior to receiving these injections. Insurance companies usually require patients try NSAIDs (Advil/Aleve), cortisone injections, and physical therapy prior to receiving approval.
A 2020 meta-analysis [Phillips, Mark; et al. (2020). "Differentiating factors of intra‑articular injectables have a meaningful impact on knee osteoarthritis outcomes: a network meta‑analysis". Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy.] found that hyaluronic acid injections into knees with osteoarthritis improved both patient pain and function.
Stem Cell
These injections work well for chronic, joint conditions like osteoarthritis. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can develop into many different kinds of cells, determined by where they are injected. Stem cells use the local environment to differentiate into the type of cells that aid in healing. After the stem cells have been harvested (via liposuction) from the patient, they are mixed with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) obtained from the patient’s own blood. This mixture is then injected into the injury site. Approximately 70% of patients are satisfied with this treatment at two-year, follow-up evaluation [Boggess, Steele, et al. (2019): https://medwinpublishers.com/JES/JES16000130.pdf]
These injections are not covered by insurance as of yet; therefore, patients are required to pay for this procedure themselves.
Platelet-Rich Plasma
PRP is a regenerative therapy that concentrates the healing contents of your own blood to repair injured soft tissue. These injections are used for chronic, soft-tissue problems such as Achilles tendinosis, tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis), rotator cuff tendinosis, and plantar fasciitis, to name a few. This procedure involves drawing blood from the patient’s arm, centrifugation of the blood into layers, and then injection of the patient’s own PRP into the affected area.
*These injections are not covered by insurance as of yet; therefore, patients are required to pay for this procedure themselves.*