In­fil­tra­tion Vi­enna – In­fil­tra­tion The­rapy – Pain Therapy

In­fil­tra­tion the­rapy is a tar­ge­ted pain tre­at­ment in which anti-in­flamm­a­tory drugs or lo­cal an­es­the­tics are in­jec­ted di­rectly into the af­fec­ted area of the mus­cu­los­ke­le­tal sys­tem. This di­rectly tre­ats the source of the pain, lea­ding to ra­pid re­lief and im­pro­ved mo­bi­lity. This me­thod is of­ten used for joint, back, ten­don and mus­cle com­plaints.

An in­fil­tra­tion can be used for chro­nic or acute pain in the mus­cu­los­ke­le­tal sys­tem, espe­ci­ally if con­ser­va­tive me­a­su­res such as phy­sio­the­rapy or pain­kil­lers are not suf­fi­ci­ently ef­fec­tive. Ty­pi­cal areas of ap­pli­ca­tion are:

• Ar­thri­tis-re­la­ted pain (knee, hip, shoulder)
• Disc pro­blems and spi­nal complaints
• Ten­do­ni­tis (e.g. ten­nis elbow)
• Bur­si­tis
• Back and neck pain due to mus­cle tension

In­fil­tra­tion the­rapy is car­ried out on an out­pa­ti­ent ba­sis and only ta­kes a few mi­nu­tes. Af­ter tho­rough dis­in­fec­tion, a fine needle is in­ser­ted spe­ci­fi­cally into the af­fec­ted re­gion. If ne­ces­sary, the in­fil­tra­tion can be car­ried out un­der ul­tra­sound or X‑ray con­trol to en­sure pre­cise pla­ce­ment of the in­jec­tion. The pa­ti­ent can then usually be mo­bile again immediately.

De­pen­ding on the type of com­plaint, va­rious ac­tive in­gre­di­ents can be injected:

• Lo­cal an­es­the­tics for ra­pid pain relief
• Cor­ti­sone pre­pa­ra­ti­ons for long-term anti-in­flamm­a­tory effects
• Hyalu­ro­nic acid to im­prove joint function
• Bio­lo­gi­cal re­ge­ne­ra­tion the­ra­pies (e.g. ACP, PRP) to pro­mote healing

The ef­fect of­ten oc­curs shortly af­ter the in­jec­tion, espe­ci­ally if it con­ta­ins a lo­cal an­es­the­tic. Cor­ti­sone in­fil­tra­ti­ons usually de­ve­lop their full ef­fect wi­thin a few days and can last for weeks or months. With bio­lo­gi­cal the­ra­pies such as ACP, the re­ge­ne­ra­tive ef­fect can in­crease over a lon­ger pe­riod of time.

The fre­quency of in­fil­tra­ti­ons de­pends on the in­di­vi­dual dia­gno­sis. In many ca­ses, a sin­gle in­jec­tion is suf­fi­ci­ent to si­gni­fi­cantly alle­viate the sym­ptoms. If ne­ces­sary, in­fil­tra­ti­ons can be re­pea­ted in se­ve­ral ses­si­ons at in­ter­vals of a few weeks.

In­fil­tra­tion the­rapy is a safe and mi­ni­mally in­va­sive pro­ce­dure. Oc­ca­sio­nally, slight red­ness, swel­ling or a tem­po­rary fee­ling of pres­sure may oc­cur at the in­jec­tion site. Se­rious side ef­fects are rare. With cor­ti­sone in­jec­tions, ex­ces­sive use should be avo­ided as this can at­tack the car­ti­lage in the long term.

In many ca­ses, an in­fil­tra­tion can help to de­lay or even avoid an ope­ra­tion. Ho­we­ver, if there is ad­van­ced joint wear or struc­tu­ral da­mage, sur­gery may be the bet­ter long-term so­lu­tion. In­di­vi­dual me­di­cal ad­vice is crucial.

Af­ter an in­fil­tra­tion, the trea­ted area should be res­ted for a few hours. In the first 24 hours, it is ad­vi­sa­ble to avoid in­tense stress or sport­ing ac­ti­vi­ties. If ne­ces­sary, a coo­ling pad can help to re­li­eve slight swel­ling or fee­lings of pressure.

Yes, in­fil­tra­ti­ons can of­ten be com­bi­ned well with phy­sio­the­rapy, ma­nual the­rapy, or other pain ma­nage­ment me­a­su­res. A ho­li­stic tre­at­ment stra­tegy can help to re­duce pain in the long term and im­prove mobility.