While seeing one of our KCOA providers for knee injections in Kansas City, we may have diagnosed you with osteoarthritis, or cartilage loss.
This diagnosis can require a variety of treatments, including:
- oral anti-inflammatories (Aleve, Advil, Mobic, Vimovo, etc.)
- topical anti-inflammatory gel
- surgical intervention
- an intra-articular injection.
Hint: Intra-articular simply means “into the joint space.
We give knee injections in Kansas City as in-office treatments for the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
The thought of needles can be scary, especially into a body part like the knee that is not a normal injection site for many people. After all, no one gets a flu vaccine in their knee. However, this is a completely safe procedure that we perform multiple times a day.
pre- & post-care
This in-office procedure does not require any sedation or numbing, so you will be able to drive yourself home from the appointment.
KCOA provides shorts you can change into so won’t need to worry about bringing your own during those chilly winter months.
Prior to knee injections, we clean the skin with betadine, chloraprep, or alcohol; be sure to let us know if you have allergies to any of these! Then, we use cold spray on your skin, which is a topical numbing agent that prevents the pain from the needle stick. Then, before you know it, your knee injection is over.
What position will I be in for my knee injections?
There are a variety of positions the providers use to do knee injections. For example, you may sit on the edge of the exam table, lay down with your leg relaxed, or lay with your knee in a bent position. All injections involve sliding beneath the knee cap to enter the joint space, and all of these positions will provide the same relief.
No matter which way your injection is administered, it will fill the entirety of your joint space; even if your pain is on the inside of your knee, and injection is given on the outside portion of the knee, it will still provide relief.
Most Common Knee Injections in Kansas City
The most common knee injections in Kansas City are a combination of cortisone & a numbing agent, like lidocaine. Other common knee injections we give in-office are viscosupplementation (commonly known as gel or lubricating injections) and Zilretta.
All of these injections are done in the same way; the only difference is in the material we inject into your knee.
What to do after getting a knee injection in Kansas City
After the injection, you are free to go! You can drive yourself home or back to work.
We recommend icing your knee that night and doing light activity for the rest of the day. Then, you may return to all your normal activities the following day.
It may take a few days for your injection to kick in and start giving you relief.
Informational knee injection Video
Below is a video of the procedure to help familiarize you with the knee injections we perform at our Kansas City offices.
KCOA can help.
We can prescribe medication and make suggestions on how to alleviate your pain and can even schedule physical therapy, if merited, to get you back to your best and strongest self.
Know that your goal is our goal.
We want to get you back outside in this beautiful weather doing what you love. If you are having knee problems or knee pain with running in Kansas City, please give our office a call and we’ll do everything we can to get you back to your tip-top shape, whether that’s one mile or 26.2.
