Joint pain treatment (joint injections) at Spire Methley Park Hospital

Based near Leeds and Wakefield, we provide comprehensive private hospital care for our patients across West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. We have many dedicated rheumatologists, orthopaedic consultants and radiologists who can perform joint injections to relieve chronic pain and stiffness.

We offer access to tests, scans and treatment without the wait and easy booking with appointment times to suit you.

Getting here

We're on Methley Lane (the A639) - approximately 1.5 miles from junction 30 of the M62. The hospital is well served by rail stations with Castleford station 3 miles away, Wakefield 7 miles away and Leeds station 10 miles away. We have free on-site parking for you and your visitors.

Your consultations

All your consultations will take place in one of our 10 accessible consultation rooms, so don’t worry if you have joint pain when walking. During your consultations, we'll:

• Ask about your medical history
• Say whether you need blood tests, an X-ray and/or an MRI or CT scan so they can examine your joint in more detail
• Explain about the procedure, anaesthetic and any potential risks and complications and how they may affect you
• Give you a chance to ask any questions you have about your treatment

Joint injections can be used to help knee pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, hand pain, foot and ankle pain and in particular, pain that’s associated with osteoarthritis. Depending on the location of your joint injection, you may be able to have it during the same consultation - eg for hand or wrist injections. For other areas, such as hip, foot or ankle, you'll need to come back to another appointment to have the injection under X-ray control in theatre.

If you need to come back for your joint injection, on the day of your procedure you'll:

• Meet your healthcare team
• Undergo various pre-procedure checks including, blood pressure and heart rate
• Be given a sedative to help you relax (if agreed upon with your consultant beforehand)
• Have your joint felt and flexed, and possibly have excess fluid removed with a needle if necessary
• Have a thin needle injected into your joint containing the steroid and sometimes an anaesthetic to numb the area

Your consultant may use an X-ray machine positioned over your joint to guide the injection. They may also perform more than one joint injection, if necessary.

In some cases, our consultants use special platelet-rich plasma injections. The plasma is taken from your own blood, and when injected into your joint, it promotes cartilage repair and relieves pain and stiffness due to osteoarthritis.

If you had your injection at your initial consultation, you can go home straight away.

For joint injections performed in theatre, you’ll be able to rest in a recovery room afterwards (for around half an hour) before going home. Your healthcare team will provide you with any advice and information on how to manage any pain due to the injection. You'll be given something to eat and drink prior to being discharged.

The first few days

For all joint injections, it can take up to 48 hours for the steroid to take effect, so you should rest your joint for the first few days. Your consultant will inform you about over-the-counter painkillers to relieve any existing pain or discomfort. After the 48-hour period you should keep your joint active and do the exercises provided by our physiotherapists.

Although everybody’s different and you should always follow your consultant’s advice, here’s a typical recovery timeline for joint injections: