Shoulder injections

Prior to coming in to hospital please check that your insurance provider / plan will cover the cost. Injection code 4334

We carry out the injections either in the rooms as part of the consultation or more commonly in the radiology department.

Please arrive 20 minutes before your appointed time to fill out the paperwork

You do not need to fast and can eat and drink as normal before an injection.

Take your normal medications.

If you are on blood thinners you can stay on these. They do increase the risk of bruising after an injection but there is also risk associated with stopping the blood thinner. If you would rather stop the blood thinner please talk to the doctor who has prescribed it to make sure this is safe.

We recommend you have a driver in case you do not feel safe to drive. One in 20 patients will feel faint before or after an injection (Needle phobia).

You do not need any additional items. We will get you changed into a hospital gown (upper half only).

Plan to be in the hospital for about an hour.

After the injection you can move the arm as normal but do not do any heavy or repetitive work for a day to allow the local anaesthetic to wear off.

You will have a small band aide type plaster on the shoulder. Take this off the evening after the injection and wash the antiseptic off the shoulder.

Your shoulder should feel better the day of the injection due to the local anaesthetic. This wears off 12-24 hours later. The Steroid takes 5-10 days to get into the cells of the shoulder and switch off inflammation to give longer acting pain relief.

If you get a flare of pain after the injection rest the arm, take paracetamol and anti-inflammatories, Ice the shoulder. This flare occurs in 10-30% and may last 24-72 hours.