Our radiologists perform the following pain block injections
Spinal Injections
- Facet joint injections – injection into joints of the spine.
- Peri neural injections (foraminal block) – injections along nerve roots of the spine.
- Epidural injections – anti inflammatory injection into the space around the spinal cord.
For all spinal injections radiologists use low dose CT to guide the needle placement.
Non spinal joint injections
- Anti–inflammatory injections can be performed in many joints including joints in the hands, feet, ankles, knees, hips and shoulders.
For joint injections radiologists may utilise ultrasound, CT or fluoroscopy to guide needle placement.
All other procedures
You will be informed of the any action items prior to your appointment.
What to expect
The procedure should take around 10-15 minutes to perform, and is done under aseptic conditions (your skin is sterilised, and sterile equipment is used). You may experience some discomfort for a short period of time during the procedure. Local anaesthetic is administered to numb the area, the imaging helps to guide the needle into position and cortisone is then injected. The post-procedural care will vary depending on the region of the body and the type of injection performed. In some cases you will need to remain in the medical imaging department for a short period of time, after your appointment.
In the case of spinal injections, temporary weakness or altered sensation of the leg may be experienced. This is due to the effects of the local anaesthetic and should only last up to 2 hours. For this reason, patients should not drive for 2 hours post spinal injections.
Following all cortisone injections, it is advised not to do any vigorous activity for approximately 7 days, although normal day-to-day activities are acceptable. Symptom relief is usually not immediate, and can take several days to weeks.
Information about possible side-effects and post-procedural care will be provided to you during the consent process and after your procedure.
Your Results
Sydney Imaging Specialists provides patients with secure, electronic access to their images and reports. When you come into the practice you will be invited to access our patient app, where you can securely view your images and reports.
For instructions click here.
To log into the desktop version click here.
At your appointment you will be sent an SMS inviting you to create your account. Your images are then available 1-2 hours after your appointment, with your report available 4-6 days later. Your results are sent to your referring doctor as soon as they have been reported by our radiologist.
We highly recommend that you return to your referring doctor to discuss your results
