Shot to the hip

I'm now on Day 2 after my steroid injection in my left hip. I must say things seem to be feeling a bit better. I think i'm still compensating a bit because of all the adjustments my body made for the hip pain, and my muscles and tendons on that left side are still pretty tight. But I do feel that I can stretch it out a bit more now that the pain has subsided a bit. I'm hoping this really helps, because It's been a little frustrating being limited by my range of motion and pain. I really would like to get back to my pre-accident days, but I have to be realistic and about my limitations. The good news is I may actually be able to do some Yoga or PiYo without struggling to find the right postion as to not cause pain in my hip =) . I was definitely getting frustrated before by how easily my hip would get aggravated during those classes.

So you may want to know what the procedure was like. So skip the rest if you are a bit squemish....


I had to be at the doctor's office 20 minutes before my procedure time with a driver, because of the anisthetic that they give you really numbs up the treatment area. I was called into the proceudre area where they ran my blood pressure and pulse rates (which were surprisingly low, considering I was entering an unfamiliar situation). After waiting for other people to complete their treatments I was called in. Now this is a relatively new treatment for the hip, and it is very similar to spinal injections for things like spinal stenosis or slipped discs. That is because they use an X-ray to precisely guide the needle into the hip joint, and deliver the appropriate medication to the affected area. So the first thing they did in the procedure room was check with me on what they were treating, and got me up on the table and marked my hip with a big X so there was no confusion as to what they were doing. Next step is I was hooked up to a blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen sensor and then came the dose of lidocaine which is a local anisthetic to numb things up. After that was the big needle. I was pretty fortnuate to not see what they were jabbing into my hip, but they were watching the X-Ray while the poked the needle through the layers of skin, muscle tendons etc. I really didn't feel a whole lot of anything except differing amounts of pressure as the needle progressed into the hip joint. After the needle was located, multiple vials of medication were put in the syringe and emptied into my hip socket. The medication was a combination of a steriod ( I think cortizone ) and contrast material ( so they could be sure the medication was going to the right place ). I only felt a little pain while the doctor was navigating the hip joint injecting the medication, because I think he may have struck a nerve or bone. After that they removed the needle, cleaned me up and had me wait around for about 15-20 minutes. I walked a little to prove I could get around without assistance, and I walked my way out of the office to schedule a follow up with my hip specialist. All in all, I would say it was a tollerable procedure, and I have had no complicaitons to date.