Wrist Joint Injections

The Procedure for a Cortisone Wrist Injection

Usually, our physician recommends more conservative treatments — everything from pain medications to physical therapy — before turning to a cortisone wrist injection. Sometimes, those treatments are enough to ease the pain and heal the problem. But when an injection is the best alternative, you're in good hands at our clinic. The procedure for a wrist cortisone injection follows a straightforward approach. The entire process is done in the doctor's office, so you're made as comfortable as possible. Then:

• Your sports and pain medicine doctor in Manhattan determines exactly where your pain originates and where to place the injection in the wrist.
• Your wrist is cleaned, disinfected.
• Your wrist is set on a comfortable level for your doctor and for you, with the injection spot on the top. For complex cortisone wrist injections, your wrist and hand are placed on an x-ray table so your physician can use real-time fluoroscopic imagery to guide the needle where it needs to go.
• Once you're comfortable, the doctor uses a topical anesthetic to numb the area before the injection.
• Your sports and pain doctor makes the injection, placing the steroid medication at the right spot to encourage pain relief and healing.

After Your Injection in the Wrist

The local anesthetic in the injection provides instant pain relief, but it wears off in several hours. Your pain may return then because the steroids don't start working until two or three days after the injection. In the meantime, over-the-counter pain relievers are usually effective at controlling your pain.

Don't exert yourself in the days following your wrist cortisone injection. Take note of anything unusual about how you feel. If you develop fever-like symptoms or notice an increase in pain and swelling — more than it was before the injection — contact your doctor. While you're waiting for the steroid medicine to take effect:

• Keep the skin clean where the doctor injected you
• Have someone else do the dishes — don't submerge your hand in water, although it's OK to shower
• Limit your exercise; no weight-lifting
• Apply ice wrapped in a towel to your wrist, especially if it's still swollen

Cortisone Injection in Wrist Side Effects

Unexpected side effects are very rare, as long as you're not allergic to the injected steroid medication. If you notice any of the injections side effects, contact our sports pain management clinic. Most are rare and many aren't serious, but let your knowledgeable doctor decide. These risks and side effects, which are most often temporary, include:

• An infection in your wrist
• Whitening skin where you were injected
• Thinning bones, especially if you've had multiple injections
• Temporarily increased blood sugar, mostly for diabetics
• Damage to your wrist nerves
• A return of the pain and inflammation in your wrist, at least until the cortisone kicks in