We are delighted to provide you with excellent interventional pain medicine care. It is rare for complications to occur, but please call us immediately if you have any concerns.
Download a PDF of the pain diary here
If you have any additional questions, please call the office at 215-366-2803.
POST-PROCEDURE INSTRUCTIONS
- Limitations: There are none. We do not advise strict physical limitations after the injection.
- The purpose of injections is to reduce pain and inflammation and to promote increased activity and exercise. As soon as you feel improvements, please feel free to do more by 15-30% greater effort. Please pace yourself and work within your physical ability levels. If you overdo it, you may experience a set-back.
- Many patients do feel sore after injections. This soreness typically lasts 1-3 days at the most. The soreness is from the effect of the needle on your skin, soft tissue, and muscle. It may trigger temporary muscle spasms. Take it easy if you are uncomfortable. You may use ice for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off to help.
- When does it work? The injection often has numbing medicine (local anesthetic). This typically works immediately but wears off after 2-6 hours. It is important to pay attention to this immediate relief as it helps determine if the injection has located the underlying source of pain.
- The injection often uses a steroid. This takes 1-3 days for the effect to start working.
- Feel free to restart blood thinning medications that were held for the injection after 12 hours.
- Call us Immediately if:
- You have a fever greater than 101 degrees or you feel you are sick.
- You notice the injection site become saturated with blood or pus.
- You notice severe redness or swelling at the injection site.
- You experience severe pain that cannot be controlled with prescribed medications.
- You experience numbness in your legs, weakness, experience and falls or loose bladder/bowel control.
If you have any additional questions, please call the office at 215-366-2803.