Joint pain treatment (joint injections) at Spire Cheshire Hospital

At Spire Cheshire Hospital, we provide high-quality treatments for our patients and are extremely proud to be rated as Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for our private hospital care. We have many orthopaedic consultants, rheumatologists and radiology consultants who can perform joint injections to relieve chronic pain and stiffness.

We offer fast access to diagnostic tests and scans and hassle-free booking, so you don’t have to wait long to find out if treatment is right for you.

Getting here

Spire Cheshire Hospital is located just off junction 10 of the M56 on the A49 to Warrington. Public transport options are available. We have free parking on-site for you and your visitors.

Your consultations

You’ll meet your consultant in one of our 15 consultation rooms. All of our rooms are accessible, so there’s no need to worry about stairs if your joint pain is causing you mobility problems.

During your consultations, we’ll:

• Ask about your medical history
• Recommend imaging scans and/or blood tests to investigate your joint and any underlying conditions in more detail
• Check your blood pressure and blood sugar to make sure joint injections are suitable for you
• Explain in more detail how joint injections work, your expected outcome and any potential risks or complications
• Give you an opportunity to discuss your expectations, needs and desires
• Outline a treatment and ongoing support plan that’s tailored to you

Knee pain, shoulder pain and hip pain are common symptoms that may be improved with joint injections, especially joint pain associated with osteoarthritis.

Here’s what will happen on the day of your joint injection:

• You’ll meet your healthcare team
• If agreed with your consultant beforehand, you may be given a sedative so you feel calm
• Your consultant will feel and flex your joint and may draw out fluid with a needle if necessary
• Your consultant will insert a thin needle into your joint to inject the steroid, which may be mixed with a local anaesthetic to numb the area
• Your consultant may use an X-ray machine positioned over your joint as a guide for the injection
• They may make more than one injection, if appropriate

In most cases, you'll receive a hydrocortisone joint injection. Hydrocortisone is a steroid which reduces inflammation and relieves 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.

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 for up to 48 hours. However, the procedure should improve your chronic pain within 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: