There is no specific preparation required for a joint injection. At the time of booking our friendly customer service team may ask you a few questions, and will provide you with all relevant information about the procedure and aftercare.

Please wear loose clothing to your appointment, preferably a shirt and pants/skirt, so we may access the treatment site easily. In some instances, you may be given a gown to wear. You may also be asked to remove objects like watches or jewellery for your scan, so consider leaving any valuables at home.

Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment with your Medicare card and/or concession card, your referral, and any relevant previous scans. If you have a child aged 6 or under, they must be supervised by an adult other than the patient.

Depending on the procedure, your background risk and the type of blood thinner you are taking, you may be contacted by us and asked to temporarily withhold your blood thinners. If you are not sure if you are able to safely withhold your blood thinners, then you can ask your referring doctor whether you are able to stop them temporarily. If you have been advised by your doctor not to stop your blood thinners, then please advise us so we can take this into account when planning for you procedure.

The procedure is performed by a doctor (radiologist) with the assistance of a radiographer, and sometimes may also be assisted by a nurse or clinical assistant. After you arrive, the procedure will be discussed with you by one of the team members, and you will have the chance to ask any questions of any of the team members before proceeding. You will then be asked to sign a consent form indicating that you wish to proceed with the procedure.

You will usually be asked to lie face down on the CT table, although for some procedures you may be asked to lie on your back or on your side. We will make sure that you are as comfortable as possible during the procedure.  

The area will be exposed and a grid will be placed on your skin by the radiographer. After a planning CT scan, the point of entry will be decided on by the radiologist, and then marked on the skin by the radiographer. The radiologist will clean your skin with an antiseptic solution and inject local anaesthetic into the site. This may cause a stinging sensation will quickly subside. A spinal needle is then passed through the skin and soft tissues. 

A series of small CT scans are performed during the procedure to help guide the needle to the correct position. When the needle is in the correct position, a mixture of corticosteroid and local anaesthetic is then injected. 

You may feel a sensation of pressure or discomfort as the needle is guided into position and when the mixture is injected, which may be either at the site of the injection or may radiate into your limbs, similar to your radicular pain. This is caused by the pressure sensation of fluid around the nerve, and usually settles quite quickly.

You will usually be asked to stay at the clinic for a short period following the procedure to ensure that you do not have any problems. It is common for people to experience numbness, pins and needles or weakness following a nerve root block. 

This is caused by the local anaesthetic and usually wears off over a period of a few hours. The extent to which people experience effect this can be variable between different people, and may also vary between procedures on the same person. 

You may also feel as though your leg is ‘giving way’ for injections in your lumbar spine, or that you are ‘dropping things’ for injections in your cervical spine. You will usually be asked not to drive for a period of at least 6 hours while the local anaesthetic is having effect, although this may be longer in some cases. You can slowly start to increase your activities the next day.  

Most people do not report any problems following the procedure, or at most report only minor side effects from the procedure. 

However, there are some risks that you need to be aware of:

• Pain or discomfort during the procedure – It is common to feel some discomfort during any procedure involving needles, although we will try to minimize your discomfort with local anaesthetic. However, you should let us know if you are feeling pain during the procedure.
• Headache and/or general malaise – headache is more common in procedures in the cervical spine and particularly in patients who suffer from cervicogenic headaches. It may be caused by the procedure itself or the corticosteroid. It usually settles by itself over a day or so. A feeling of general malaise is also sometimes reported and may also be caused by the steroid. People may also report difficulty sleeping or anxiety for a couple of days after the procedure.
• Flare of pain – some patients may feel an increase in their symptoms after the injections. This may be caused by the corticosteroid (steroid flare) or sometimes the local anaesthetic. This will usually settle down by itself over the course of a few days, although sometimes may take longer. You may take analgesia if you experience a flare, as it will not affect the outcome of the injection. Most people who experience a flare also report that their usual baseline symptoms improve once the flare has also settled.
• Hyperglycaemia – The corticosteroid may temporarily elevate your blood glucose levels. This is usually only relevant to diabetic patients who are monitoring their BGL and taking insulin, and may require a temporary change to your usual insulin dosing regimen. 
• Steroid flush - People may report a flushing of the skin over their face and chest a day or two after the injection. This is related to the steroid and usually settles by itself. It does not usually require any treatment.   
• Allergic reactions – serious allergic reactions are rare for this type of procedure, although may be caused due to a reaction to the skin cleaner, corticosteroid or local anaesthetic. If you suffer from an allergic reaction it will usually occur at the time of the procedure, and will be treated accordingly by the radiologist.
• Failure of the procedure – in some cases the procedure may not alleviate your pain, or may only partially relieve your symptoms. The reason for this may be for a variety of reasons, but is usually related to the cause of your pain rather than anything related to the procedure itself. The fact that the procedure has not alleviated your pain is still important information for your referring doctor to know, as it will help to further guide the diagnosis and management of your pain in the future.
• Bleeding – Bleeding and bruising may be common in people who have an underlying bleeding disorder or who are taking blood thinners, although is usually minimal. Rarely it may cause a haematoma and compression around the nerve or in the epidural space requiring further medical or surgical treatment. 
• Infection – this is uncommon and usually minor, although uncommonly may require hospital admission and treatment with antibiotics or surgery.
• Nerve damage – this is rare and may be caused by direct trauma from the needle, or may be from other causes such as bleeding or infection. The result of this can be permanent numbness, pins and needles or weakness.
• Dural puncture – this is uncommon for this type of procedure, and results when the needle punctures the sac encasing the nerves or from barotrauma when the corticosteroid and local anaesthetic is injected, and may result in persistent headaches. In most cases, this resolves by itself over the course of a couple of weeks. 

You may require a driver to take you home and you should not drive for at least 6 hours following the injection. We ask that you avoid any strenuous physical activity, including standing for more than one hour at a time, for 48 hours post injection.

If you experience pain following the procedure, you may treat with a local application of a cold pack and analgesia (e.g. paracetamol or NSAIDs).

If you develop fever, swelling, redness and warmth in the days or week following an injection, call Qscan on 1300 177 226 or contact your GP. If you are still concerned and it is after hours, please contact your nearest Emergency Department.

Our friendly customer service team will provide you with any specific aftercare instructions at the time of your appointment.

Our friendly customer service team can advise you of all costs involved with your procedure including any out-of-pocket costs, if relevant. Please contact us for a quote or to book your appointment.