Hip injection
A guided hip injection involves inserting a small quantity of local anaesthetic and anti-inflammatory steroid into your hip joint. The procedure is performed in the operating theatre, under general anaesthetic, using an X-ray machine to guide the needle.
There are two reasons to do a hip injection:
- To help your surgeon identify whether your pain is from your hip or not, and thereby help with diagnosis - diagnostic.
The hip joint is a common source of pain in the groin and thigh. However, occasionally, problems in other areas – particularly the lower spine, sacroiliac joint, pubic bone joint or the knee can produce very similar pains. An injection into the hip joint can be used to help diagnosis and to differentiate between pain of hip origin and pain arising from elsewhere.
2. To reduce inflammation of the joint and thereby treat your pain - therapeutic.
The injection can give significant symptomatic relief – particularly in early arthritis or minor tears of the hip labrum.
Hip injection is usually performed under general anaesthesia. This is to reduce the risk of causing damage to cartilage or soft tissue around the hip by the needle. First, using X-ray, a small amount of air is injected into the hip joint to confirm the tip of the needle is in the joint. After that, a small quantity of local anaesthetic and anti-inflammatory steroid are injected to the hip. Finally, we manipulate the hip joint (move the hip around) to spread the drug into every corner of the hip.
The local anaesthetic will last for up to 2 days. It is important that you remember what your pain is like at this point as you will be asked this in clinic at your follow up appointment. This information helps us diagnose what is wrong. There may be some increase in pain when the local anaesthetic wears off and before the steroid works. The steroid can take up to 6 weeks to take full effect. You will be seen by us about 2 weeks after injection. It is important that you have a clear idea how your pain responded straight after the injection, as well as over the following weeks.
There are several low risks involved in the hip injection:
- A change in your blood sugar levels (especially if you are diabetic)
- Post infection flare, that is, temporary worsening of pain
- A severe allergic reaction to the local anaesthetic
- Bleeding
- Nerve irritation, causing a weak floppy leg
- Infection
- Steroid arthropathy which affects the condition of the joint cartilage
