What is the role of joint injections in the management of arthritis?
Joint injections are useful modalities in arthritis therapy. Practically speaking, any particular joint in the human body can be reached with the needle. Superficially, localized joints can be injected in a blind way, deeper joints and joints surrounded by major blood vessels and nerves are injected under imaging guidance. It has been well documented that even in the hands of an experienced physician, the accuracy (the exact placement of the needle into the joint cavity) of a blindly performed joint injection is far from perfect (70-75%). Therefore, more physicians perform joint injections under real-time direction such as with ultrasound. Performance of a joint injection includes several consecutive steps. Initially, the physician will identify the correct anatomical place for the needle insertion. The skin over the selected area is cleaned with antimicrobial soap, disinfectant and alcohol. The skin and soft tissues are then numbed (anesthesized) with either Lidocaine or Marcaine. If
