Ultrasound-Guided Joint Injections

If you are suffering from a painful musculoskeletal condition and your treatment plan includes corticosteroid injections (CSI), the private ultrasound-guided injections service offered by Midland Health can help improve the treatment outcomes and minimise the risks of the procedure. 

Our trained radiologists use ultrasound technology to accurately administer steroid injections to any musculoskeletal part of your body, including the shoulders, knees, hips and wrists. The procedure is used to treat painful or swollen joints, tendons and ligaments. It is a fast and efficient pain relief solution, speeding up the recovery process and helps you get back on your feet sooner.

As Midland Health houses GPs, diagnostics experts and specialist doctors under one roof, you will be able to get an accurate diagnosis and receive pain management treatment without having to wait. Our team can see you on short notice at our private clinic in Birmingham. Simply give us a call today to book an appointment.

What is an ultrasound-guided injection?

Ultrasound-guided injections use dynamic musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging to follow the movement of the needle inside your body and guide it to the correct location. This improves the accuracy of the procedure and makes it safer. 

Ultrasound machines use a transducer (small hand-held device) to send high-frequency sound waves to the affected area. Echoing sounds are transmitted back to the transducer which then sends them to a computer for processing. Based on the information, an image of the target area is visualised in real time. 

In the context of injections, the sound waves are directed towards the needle to display a dynamic image of the needle tip as it moves towards the target area.

Conditions we can treat with a US-guided injection

Midland Health’s ultrasound team uses ultrasound-guided injections to treat a number of different health conditions related to the musculoskeletal system. Some of the most common problems we can help with include (but are not limited to):

• Osteoarthritis 
• Tennis elbow
• Frozen shoulder
• Golfer’s elbow
• Morton’s neuroma
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Shoulder bursitis & impingement
• Greater trochanteric pain syndrome
• Trigger Finger

To discuss using ultrasound-guided injections in your pain management plan, please book an appointment with your Midland Health GP. 

What does the procedure involve? 

An ultrasound-guided injection is a quick, minimally invasive procedure that takes about 15-30 minutes. As local anaesthetic is used, you will be awake during the procedure but you will feel no pain. 

You will be allowed to go home straight after the procedure.You will not be able to drive after the procedure for safety reasons, so you will have to make transport arrangements.

The local anaesthetic will be in effect for 4-6 hours so you may feel numbness in the treated area during that time. We advise you to rest for 24-48 hours after the procedure. You should benefit from the full effect of the steroids within 10 days. 

In rare cases, you may experience pain in the short term, following the image-guided injection. You can use over-the-counter pain relief to manage this but if you have any concerns, please get in touch with the Midland Health medical team for advice. 

All ultrasound-guided injection services are performed by a Consultant MSK Radiologist. Each procedure takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Our Ultrasound Service is located on the first floor of our clinic. Please note that we do not have lift access to our first-floor clinic rooms, they are only accessible by stairs.

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