Patient Information

AUTOLOGOUS BLOOD INJECTION

A new approach used in treating tennis elbow, patellar tendon injury and plantar fasciitis. 2-3mls of your own blood is injected under ultrasound guidance into small tears or defects in the tendon. It is thought that introducing one’s own blood into an area of inflammation will initiate the inflammatory cascade and promote healing.

 

DORSAL ROOT GANGLION BLOCK

Also called Selective Nerve Root Block. If the standard route approach, ie, epidural steroid injection does not provide adequate relief or is inappropriate in sciatic or cervical nerve root entrapment, then a Dorsal Root Ganglion Block can be performed under X-ray control delivering the anti-inflammatory medicine direct to the source of irritation around the spinal nerve providing excellent pain relief.

 

EPIDURAL INJECTION

Epidural injections are beneficial for both sciatica and back pain caused by spinal disc lesions. The solution (a mixture of local anaesthetic or normal saline and corticosteroid) bathes the inflamed spinal cord and nerve structures with anti-inflammatory medicine to reduce swelling and pain. There is no clear evidence of any long term complication from epidural steroids. Your doctor can use two different routes  to reach the spinal cord and nerve structures - the caudal or lumbar route.

 

FACET JOINT INJECTION

The facet joints are a common source of pain in the neck and lower back after 'whiplash' injury and in the elderly due to arthritis. The pain can often be relieved by a small dose of corticosteroid into the offending joints. Alternatively and in those patients that cannot have a corticosteroid solution injected into them, a course of Ostenil can be used.

 

FLUOROSCOPYSpinal Injections

Fluoroscopy is the use of low dose X-ray for targeted injections such as in epidurals, dorsal root ganglion blocks, facet joint injections, and hip joint injections. Procedures which normally would have to take place in hospital can be achieved in a more relaxed setting without the need for general anaesthesia. All of the procedures carried out take no longer than 45 minutes and are with a nurse in attendance. Although complications during the procedure are extremely rare, both your doctor and the nurse are trained in immediate life support should any complications arise.

 

HIP JOINT INJECTIONS

Among the many causes of groin pain is the hip joint and all of the conditions that can affect it. Often the clinical presentation in patients with groin pain is mixed. If a patient’s groin pain is entirely relieved by a hip joint injection (diagnostic block), even temporarily, then an anatomical diagnosis is made. The patient will then need further investigation to make an accurate assessment of the hip joint pathology. Hip pain can however also be due to traumatic or degenerative arthritis. Injection into the hip joint under X-ray guidance with a corticosteroid solution or a course of Ostenil can help relieve the pain and improve joint mobility.

 

JOINT AND TENDON INJECTIONSTennis Elbow PDF document

For the frozen shoulder, tennis and golfer elbow, hip and knee osteoarthritis, groin pain, knee tendonitis, ankle sprains, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, Morton's Neuroma.

 

MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE / INTRAMUSCULAR STIMULATION

A Western scientific approach de-activating painful trigger points in shortened, tense muscles responsible for myofascial pain. It involves the insertion of acupuncture needles into the tight bands and knots of muscle, releasing energy and reducing the local spasm. Beneficial following whiplash injury, back pain, calf pain, and tennis elbow.

 

OSTENIL / VISCOSUPPLEMENTS Ostenil / Viscosupplements

Joint pain is often due to overloading of the joints during sport or work related activities or due to osteoarthritis. Local Infiltration with corticosteroid is the traditional method that works but causes temporary weakening and 50% tend to relapse. An alternative to using corticosteroids is the use of a drug called Ostenil. This a solution containing hyaluronic acid. It works by restoring the normal balance between the breakdown and production of hyaluronic acid. This effect of Ostenil means that it can decrease pain and stiffness and improve the other symptoms of osteoarthritis. It contains no animal proteins, which means it is very unlikely to cause an allergic reaction. Ostenil has been given to thousands of patients and has not been found to cause any serious side effects. The exact make-up of hyaluronic acid in Ostenil has been carefully chosen so that it is as effective as possible in treating osteoarthritis.

 

PROLOTHERAPY Prolotherapy PDF document

(In lumber and sacroiliac instability, discogenic pain, whiplash injury, and recurrent ankle sprain)
Ligaments help to provide stability in the joints. Sometimes ligaments can be overstretched, or even torn. The ligament may then not control the joint adequately - thus leading to 'instability' which may put abnormal stresses on the joints. Sclerosant injections (Prolotherapy) work by stimulating the body to make new fibres which are laid down within the substance of the ligaments, thickening and strengthening them. Each ligament has to be stimulated 3 or 4 times at intervals of a week, in order to produce sound fibrous development. Hence the injections are given as a course of treatment.