Infiltrations / injections

Therapy with injections placed into the shoulder is often referred to as injection therapy or infiltration therapy.

The injections can have three different desired effects.

Firstly, medication can be administered for testing purposes. Despite the available imaging techniques such as X-rays, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, it can sometimes happen that all the images do not provide any clarity about the cause of the shoulder pain. An injection into the structure being tested can often provide new insights into the cause of the pain. A good example of this is osteoarthritis in the acromioclavicular joint. If it is unclear whether and how much of the pain is caused by this small joint, a targeted injection of a local anesthetic into the joint can provide information. Based on the effect of the injection, it can be estimated how much of the pain is originating from this joint.

A second reason for injections on or in the shoulder may be to alleviate symptoms. For some conditions, a cure is difficult or even impossible. In this case, a targeted injection can relieve pain and possibly improve function.

The third reason is to try to heal something or support healing. Especially in cases of chronic irritation, which can be very painful, it is useful to relieve these symptoms through targeted injections. This enables the patient to regain normal shoulder movement and perform exercise therapy.