Knee infiltration is a medical procedure generally recommended in cases of osteoarthritis. What does this technique consist of? Is it painful? What are the side effects, and what precautions should I take?
How Does A Knee Infiltration Work?
Infiltration is a technique that injects fluid into a tissue or a joint. The aim is to bring the drug directly into contact with the area to be treated. The infiltration can be carried out in a joint, such as the knee, with the help of a fine needle, which is put on a syringe containing the product to be injected. In the knee, the drug injected is most often a corticosteroid, sometimes hyaluronic acid.
Infiltration should be done with caution to avoid infection. We start by disinfecting the skin next to the point of the bite, and the doctor will put theIf the gesture is made well, it is not painful. A local anesthetic is sometimes performed in patients sensitive. The product is injected slowly, the needle is removed, and a small bandage is put in place to keep for a few hours.
Before infiltration, the doctor can puncture fluid in the joint, performed with the same needle well positioned in the knee. This puncture allows the fluid to be analyzed, which can help with the diagnosis. Removing fluid from a swollen and painful joint also relieves the joint and alleviates pain.
In Which Cases To Practice It?
The infiltration is often effective in relieving a swollen joint, but one must ensure no infection before putting any medicine in a joint. The swelling can have different origins: in sports medicine, where trauma and inflammation of the knee are common; in specific inflammatory pathologies such as polyarthritis; in osteoarthritis, with corticosteroids if the knee is swollen, or a so-called visco-supplementation infiltration when there is no swelling, but only pain in the joint.
Precautions And Side Effects
Injecting corticosteroids quickly relieves knee pain. Walking or driving immediately after the gesture is possible, but a little rest allows the product to diffuse better in the joint. This treatment is often effective for several weeks and makes it possible to pass a painful and disabling course. The infiltration should not be repeated too often. If an infiltration is not adequate, it means that another treatment must be taken. About three infiltrations per year on the same joint are possible.
Infiltration is a simple and effective gesture, but it has its share of undesirable effects. Rarely, transiently increase pain, for 1 or 2 days. We are then obliged to take anti-inflammatory drugs like the knee steroid injection (ฉีด ส เตีย รอยด์ เข่า which is the term in Thai) until this reaction calms down and the infiltration takes effect.
The effects of these infiltrations are nevertheless transitory, and the pain generally only ceases for a few weeks. D other side effects exist, which are rare. These may be vagal discomfort (profuse sweating, drop in blood pressure, feeling of dizziness, palpitations), flushing (flushing of the face and hot flashes accompanied by headaches.), or infection (the most dangerous, but also the rarest side effect).
Where To Do A Knee Infiltration?
A knee infiltration is performed in the rheumatology department of a hospital, in a medical imaging center, or an equipped clinic.