Intra-articular Hip Injection
An intra-articular hip injection as a procedure used to treat hip and groin pain. Usually this pain comes from inflammation (swelling) that happens from daily “wear and tear” on the joint. In some patients, the pain is from an injury or a birth defect.
At Aptiva Health, we offer same-day and walk-in appointments for hip injuries and conditions to evaluate, diagnose, and make the appropriate referral for additional treatment based upon your specific hip injury or condition. We treat these conditions in our Pain Management, General Medicine, Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, and Physical Therapy departments.
how is the procedure performed?
During the procedure, a mixture of local anesthetic and steroid is injected into the hip. The local anesthetic will numb the area, and steroid may help lower the swelling. The steroid should reduce the pain and improve the motion in your hip.
Will the injection hurt?
Your doctor will inject numbing medication over your hip joint. You may feel some stinging from the needle or the numbing medication. You may also feel some pressure or an increase in your normal level of pain while the contrast dye, and then steroid mixed with local anesthetic is being injected into the hip joint. The temporary increase in pain may last for a few days after the procedure, until the steroid starts to work. The injection will take less than 10 minutes to complete.
How long does the effect last?
The effect might last several weeks to several months. You may have 3 or 4 steroid injections a year.
What is the next step after the injection?
Be as active as possible and do the activities that usually cause your hip or groin pain after the injection. You will be given a pain log to complete after the procedure. This will help us to measure your response to the injection and determine the next most appropriate plan of care. Please bring your pain log with you to your follow up appointment.
What are the risks and side effects?
Serious side effects and complications are rare. The most common problem after the injection is having pain in the area of the injection for a few days. The other complications are infection, bleeding and nerve injury. These complications are minimized by stopping blood thinners, using sterile technique, and fluoroscopy for x-ray needle guidance.