Joint blockade is a minimally invasive orthopedic procedure used to reduce acute and chronic pain. This method involves injecting a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory agent into the pain relief. The most common injection of steroids is in the spine, knee, shoulder or hip joints.

Joint blockade , often called an injection into a joint by patients, brings about an improvement in well-being quite quickly, because drugs administered to the joint block nerve conduction in its area. The blocks can be applied to virtually all diseased joints.

Joint blockade - steroid drugs

Steroid injections (blockades)typically contain a mixture of synthetic cortisol and a local anesthetic such as lidocaine or bupivacaine.

Cortisol, a hormone, is a steroid produced by the adrenal glands and has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. There are many preparations with this active substance. All steroids have a similar mechanism of action but differ in strength and duration of action.

Short and long-acting drugs can be listed.

The local anesthetic acts as a solvent for the steroid and numbs the injection site, making the procedure less painful.

The mechanism of action of intra-articular steroids is that drugs reduce the inflammation in the joint, and therefore the pain associated with it.

Joint blockage - indications

As already knownintraarticular blockagesare offered to patients with various ailments.

In the case of back pain, the patient can be offered physical therapy, surgical treatment, but also pain relief by administering an analgesic block to the joints of the spine.

Steroids are effective in the treatment of stenosis, spondylolisthesis or discopathy.

Depending on the location of the lesions and the occurrence of pain, the doctor may use a blockade of the cervical, thoracic or lumbar spine.

Spine blocks are administered under X-ray or ultrasound control.

Some people may haveepidural injection . They are effective for sciatica, shoulder and femur. The epidural injection acts directly on the cause of the pain in the spine.which is compression and inflammation of the nerve root.

Knee blockadesare performed in the case of degenerative changes in the joint as well as in the case of chronic pains that may result from an injury (even an old one) or be associated with advanced degenerative changes.

Shoulder locksare performed when other methods of relieving the patient from chronic pain have failed.

In degenerative hip joint treatment begins with conservative methods, incl. you are given drugs with steroids in the form of injections (hip blockade). If conservative methods are unsuccessful, surgery and implantation of a hip replacement may be necessary.

Pond blockage - how is it done?

Most blockades are done in the infirmary.

The patient must expose the sick joint. The place of application of the drug is cleaned with an antiseptic liquid, i.e. a skin disinfectant.

The doctor then uses a small needle to inject a steroid into the joint.

It is not painful. One can only speak of an unpleasant feeling when injecting the drug.

The needle puncture site is covered with a bandage. In some cases, the doctor sticks special tapes around the sick joint, which additionally stabilize the joint and bear the pain a bit.

Pond blockade - when does it start to work?

The injection should start working within a few days and may last for weeks. In some conditions, one injection is enough to get rid of the inflammation and pain effectively, while in other cases it may be necessary to give several injections into the joint.

There is no specific number of blockades that one person can take.

Many doctors order three injections, but there may be times when more joint blockages will need to be done.

Everyone reacts individually to the blockade.

Many patients are concerned about steroid blockages because they believe that frequent steroid use can damage tendons and / or articular cartilage. However, statistically this is rare.

Joint blockage - complications

The most common side effect of administering a steroid blockage to the joint is the so-calledflare reaction . It happens when the steroid precipitates into crystals after being injected.

Patients who develop a flare reaction have a short period of pain lasting 1-2 days after the injection. The pain can be much stronger than that with which the patient struggled before the blockage.

Flare goes away on its own after a few days.

For pain relief, pleaseapply cold compresses to the pond and save the pond.

Another complication, especially in people with darker complexion, is the discoloration of the skin at the site of the blockage. The skin may become brighter and thinner. Over time, the skin's condition returns to normal, but in some people permanent discoloration may remain.

Applying the blockage to the joint may also result in an infection, if it has not been thoroughly cleaned before the procedure.

There are also allergic reactions to the steroid itself or the local anesthetic drug in the injection. People with diabetes may experience a temporary increase in blood glucose levels.

If, after administering a blockage to the joint with steroids, the injection site is red and very warm, or you have a fever exceeding 38 degrees C, you need to see a doctor so that he can rule out or confirm the infection and start appropriate treatment.

Category:

Anatomy