Joint pain treatment (joint injections) at Spire Thames Valley Hospital

At Spire Thames Valley Hospital, we take pride in providing a high standard of private hospital care to our patients in the Thames Valley and Windsor areas. We have many dedicated rheumatologists, orthopaedic consultants and pain management specialists who can perform joint injections to 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

We’re only a 10 minute drive from both the M4 and M40 motorways and we’re less than half an hour from central London by train. We have free parking on-site.

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
• Discuss whether you need blood tests, an X-ray and/or an MRI or CT scan to examine your joint in more detail
• Check your blood pressure and blood sugar to make sure a hydrocortisone injection is suitable for you
• Explain about the procedure, anaesthetic, 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.

When you come in to Spire Thames Valley Hospital for your joint injection, you’ll:

• Meet your healthcare team
• 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

Sometimes, your consultant will 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.

When your consultant has finished, you’ll be able to relax in a recovery room until you’re ready to go home - this is usually for about half an hour or so. Before you leave, your healthcare team will give you advice on managing your pain and any exercises you can do to help improve your results.

You may have some discomfort from the injection – if you had a local anaesthetic, you may feel this after a couple of hours. However, the joint injection should improve your chronic pain in a few hours to a few days. Usually, the effects should last for a few weeks to a few months, depending on the type and strength of your injection.

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