Joint pain treatment (joint injections) at Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital

At Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital, we provide comprehensive private hospital services in a comfortable and relaxed environment for our patients across Cambridgeshire and East Anglia. We offer a choice of expert orthopaedic consultants and anaesthetists who perform joint injections and are committed to healthcare excellence.

You can expect to receive treatment without the wait, and high-quality aftercare that’s personalised to you. Our facilities are clean and modern with all the comfort and convenience you’d expect at home.

Getting here

We’re 15 minutes from Cambridge train station, which has direct links into London's King's Cross and Liverpool Street stations. We have free on-site parking for you and your visitors.

Your consultations

All your consultations will take place in one of our 22 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
• Check your blood pressure and blood sugar to make sure the hydrocortisone injection is suitable for you
• 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 Cambridge Lea 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 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.

After your procedure, you’ll rest in a recovery room 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.

The first few days

Following your joint procedure, you’ll need someone to stay with you for the first 24 hours. 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: