Cortisone Injections Specialist

Regenerative Spine and Pain Institute

Board Certified Pain Management Physicians & Stem Cell Specialists located in Plainsboro Township, NJ & Freehold, NJ

Cortisone injections are an effective method of reducing pain and inflammation in joints and the spine. If your joint or spine pain isn't responding to physical therapy and medication, double board-certified pain management specialist Ronak D. Patel, MD, of Regenerative Spine and Pain Institute, can help. With locations in Plainsboro and Freehold, New Jersey, the practice offers a range of image-guided cortisone injections that could give you relief even if other treatments aren't helping. The team welcomes residents of Plainsboro Township, Freehold, Hamilton, and other local communities. Call to schedule an in-office or telehealth consultation or book online today.

Cortisone Injections Q&A

What are cortisone injections?

Cortisone injections are treatments that can help reduce pain and inflammation when the most conservative approaches are failing to relieve your discomfort.

Cortisone is a steroid medication that has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Cortisone injections typically contain a local anesthetic as well, which gives you immediate but short-term pain relief. The steroid keeps working for several months and often longer.

Steroid treatments aren't the first method Regenerative Spine and Pain Institute uses to treat chronic pain due to the risk of side effects.

Most patients with chronic pain conditions respond well to physical therapies and cutting-edge treatments like regenerative medicine. However, if your pain isn't getting better after several months, you might benefit from cortisone injections.

What conditions can cortisone injections treat?

Cortisone injections are a useful treatment for many musculoskeletal conditions in the joints and spine. Regenerative Spine and Pain Institute successfully uses cortisone joint injections to treat common conditions like arthritis, tendinitis, and bursitis, all of which cause chronic inflammation. Knee pain also responds well to cortisone injections.

Cortisone injections into your spine usually go into the epidural space that surrounds your spinal cord. The different types of spinal cortisone injections include:

Cervical epidural in the neck
Thoracic epidural in the upper back
Lumbar epidural in the lower back
Caudal epidural in the base of the spine
Transforaminal epidural in the vertebrae
Facet injections in the spinal joints

These injections reduce inflammation in the tissues surrounding your nerves as they exit your spinal cord. Inflammation is a common cause of pinched nerves, which can be extremely painful and cause other distressing symptoms, including burning, prickling, and loss of function.

What does having a cortisone injection involve?

Having cortisone injections at Regenerative Spine and Pain Institute is a straightforward in-office procedure. You won't need a general anesthetic, just a local anesthetic to numb the injection site and, depending on the type of cortisone injection you're having, a mild sedative.

To perform the cortisone injection, your provider uses imaging techniques such as ultrasound or fluoroscopy (a moving X-ray) to guide the delivery of the steroid medication into your spine or joints.

After your cortisone injection, you wait in the recovery area for a short time to make sure you're ok, before going home. Some patients find one cortisone injection to be very effective, while others need a series of injections. These should be no less than six weeks apart.

To find out whether cortisone injections could help with your chronic pain problems, call Regenerative Spine and Pain Institute today or book an appointment online.

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