Will my knee injection hurt?

Knee pain is very common and can be hard to treat. Treatments such as exercise, weight loss and painkillers can be helpful. Many patients however find steroid injections can help to reduce pain to allow them the keep their knees strong and mobile. We are often asked by patients booking in for knee injections; ‘will this treatment be very painful?’.

Knee injections treatment

This treatment is generally far more comfortable than patients expect.

• First, we perform all of our knee injections under ultrasound guidance which means we are able to plan the shortest and most direct route and avoid contact with any sensitive structures with the needle tip during the procedure.
• Second, we are able to use local anaesthetic both prior to the injection to numb the injection site and also mixed with the steroid which will help make your knee more comfortable immediately after the injection. Occasionally patients may get some discomfort the day after the injection when the local anaesthetic has worn off and before the steroid begins to take affect (normally from about 3 days following the injection). Usually this will be an achy pain and is generally well managed by use of an ice pack or hot water bottle.

Occasionally patients may choose to take Paracetamol or over the counter painkillers which they have found to be useful. This pain usually settles within 24-48hours. We recommend that patients remain active and try to gently exercise the knee as this often helps settle the discomfort. Of note, if the knee were to become very hot and swollen following the injection we recommend an urgent medical review to rule out infection. This is a very rare complication and is thought to occur approximately one in every 50,000 joint injections.

We hope this information will be helpful to those considering a steroid injection for their knee – the vast majority find the procedure to be far less unpleasant than they had been led to believe.

If you require further information or wish to discuss further please email on injections@complete-physio.co.uk or call 02074823875

More information on knee conditions and injections to treat them – from our specialists

Our highly experienced team of expert clinicians have written a selection of blogs and articles on a range of conditions that may be treated by an injection that we could offer you, as well as some stories from patient’s that came to us seeking relief from their knee pain. Please take a look at any of the following links and get in touch with us if you think you are suffering from any of these conditions and think you may require an injection.

• Osteoarthritis of the knee

• Patellofemoral osteoarthritis

• Baker’s cyst – swelling on the back of the knee

• ITB Friction Syndrome

• Meniscal cartilage tears

• Prepatellar bursitis – known as Housemaids’ knee

• Patellar tendinopathy – known as Jumper’s knee

• Fat pad impingement

• Pes anserine bursitis

• Longer lasting pain relief for knees – Triamcinolone Hexacetonide

• PRP injections for knee osteoarthritis

• Hyaluronic acid injections for knee osteoarthritis

• Clare’s story – a 35 year old runner from London with knee pain

• John’s story – a 50 year old golfer from Kent