Accuracy of diagnosis:
This really depends on several factors. First, it depends on an Accurate Diagnosis of the problem. For example if someone has been incorrectly diagnosed with a frozen shoulder whilst their problem is related to a rotator cuff tear then injecting the incorrect structure i.e: shoulder joint with a steroid is unlikely to result in significant pain relief.
Ultrasound guided injections are more effective and efficacious then unguided injections
There is significant evidence that ultrasound guided injections are more accurate than unguided injections via systematic review and meta-analysis by Hoeber et al: 2016. A Systematic review by Aly et al. (2015) also showed that shoulder girdle injections are also more effective.
Type of injection given:
Steroid injections are generally thought to be lasting a good number of months although of course many conditions will naturally improve within that timeframe anyway so a good number of people will remain symptom-free following the injection. For conditions where there is significant structural damage such as degenerative changes of joints or significant tendon defects the benefit of a steroid injection is likely to be of a temporary nature. Generally speaking in these scenarios I would expect it to perhaps last for 3 to 4 months. Every condition however is different and people with very severe degenerative changes for example might actually not have much benefit at all from a steroid injection. Although we cannot be sure about this as we all know people with exactly the same condition who will get real good benefit for many months.
Hyaluronic acid injections are thought to be longer lasting and oftentimes people have benefits for 6 months or longer still. Usually, hyaluronic acid injections are less beneficial for those with more severe degenerative changes. If the person to be injected has mild to perhaps moderate changes they might have a better outcome.
Arthrosamid Injections studies have shown that Arthrosamid can give people long lasting pain relief. Studies have indicated that 1 injection can be enough to give people 3 years of significant pain relief.
In Summary:
If done under ultrasound guidance injections are more accurate and therefore can give better pain relief and for longer. Steroid injections tend to last for a good number of months, hyaluronic acid injections can last for longer possibly 6 months to maximum a year. Arthrosamid injections can give significant pain relief for people with knee arthritis for up to 3 years.
References:
Aly AR, Rajasekaran S, Ashworth N. Ultrasound-guided shoulder girdle injections are more accurate and more effective than landmark-guided injections: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine. 2015 Aug 1;49(16):1042-9.
Hoeber, S., Aly, A.R., Ashworth, N. and Rajasekaran, S., 2016. Ultrasound-guided hip joint injections are more accurate than landmark-guided injections: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(7), pp.392-396.
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