Interventional Radiology – Pain relief injections

At Greater Missouri Imaging we are here to help ease your pain in your back or joints.

We provide the following injections for pain in the spine:
Epidural
Facet
Nerve block
Trigger point/Myofascial injections

We also provide injections for all peripheral joints. These therapeutic injections deliver anesthetic and corticoid steroid into the joint space at the referring physicians request. This can help reduce pain and inflammation to get you back to your normal activities.

We are able to provide multiple levels of pain management for your needs.
• Injections as a specific one time, one site referral (e.g.L4-5 epidural steroid injection)
• A series of a specific number of injections (e.g. Lumbar ESI series of 3 as needed)
• We can also function on an evaluate and treat basis/order, including evaluation, exam, appropriate imaging, and appropriate pain management treatment.
• We can treat on a one-time or an ongoing basis.

Other Injections:
Arthrogram: a procedure performed by injecting contrast into a joint, then imaging the joint. The radiologist performs the study utilizing CT imaging to accurately guide the needle into the joint and then injects an appropriate amount of contrast. Contrast is a liquid solution that shows up on images. In instances where there is a tear the liquid (contrast) leaks out of the “normal” area.

Contraindications: patients allergic to or sensitive to medications, contrast dyes, local anesthesia, iodine, and latex.

Ankle Tenogram: injection technique to relieve chronic ankle pain. Ankle tenography is primarily a diagnostic technique to aid in diagnosing chronic ankle pain, referable to the tendons, that has been unresponsive to more conservative therapy (i.e., immobilization, bracing and physical therapy). These can be accompanied with injection as a combination of local anesthetic and steroid. This has been shown to be useful in localizing pain and in surgical decision making.

Myelogram: an imaging examination that involves the introduction of a spinal needle into the spinal canal and the injection of contrast material in the space around the spinal cord and nerve roots using a real-time form of x-ray called fluoroscopy. Myelography is most commonly used to detect abnormalities affecting the spinal cord, the spinal canal, the spinal nerve roots and the blood vessels that supply the spinal cord.

Discogram: is an interventional diagnostic imaging test that helps determine whether a specific intervertebral disc may be the source of back pain. In a discogram, a contrast liquid is injected into the center of one or more spinal discs using x-ray guidance. This injection may temporarily reproduce the patient’s back pain symptoms. As part of the procedure, an x-ray or CT scan also may be performed to obtain pictures of the injected disc.