Joint pain treatment (joint injections) at Spire Cardiff Hospital

At Spire Cardiff Hospital, we’re proud to be the largest, modern provider of private hospital care in Wales. Our orthopaedic consultants, rheumatologists and radiologists perform joint injections to help relieve chronic pain and stiffness.

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

Getting here

Spire Cardiff Hospital is located a short distance from Junction 30 of the M4 and is well signposted. We have free parking on-site for you and your visitors.

Your consultations

All your consultations will take place in one of our 21 accessible consulting 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 and hip pain, and in particular, pain that’s associated with osteoarthritis.

Once you and your consultant have decided to go ahead with joint injections, they’ll outline your treatment and ongoing support plan.

On the day of your procedure, you’ll come into Spire Cardiff Hospital and meet your healthcare team.

When you’re ready, your consultant will feel and flex your joint and may draw out fluid with a needle, if necessary.

Your consultant will then perform the joint injection.

• They may use a local anaesthetic before or at the same time as the injection to help make the procedure more comfortable for you
• They may use a special X-ray machine to see your joint and guide the needle in
• They may make more than one injection, if necessary

In most cases, you'll receive a corticosteroid joint injection - corticosteroids reduce inflammation and relieve pain.

Sometimes, our consultants recommend special platelet-rich plasma injections. The plasma is taken from your own blood, and when injected into your joint, it’s intended to promote cartilage repair and relieves pain and stiffness due to osteoarthritis.

After your injection, you can relax in our waiting room until you're happy to leave - this is usually for about 20 minutes.

It’s normal to feel some discomfort from the injection itself and to have some bruising for a few days afterwards. If you had a local anaesthetic, you may not feel much pain but the effects will wear off in a couple of hours.

Some people notice an improvement in their chronic pain after just a few hours but it can take several days for the injection to become fully effective. You can expect the effects to last for a few weeks up to a year, depending on the type and strength of injection you have.

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