Common investigations

Diagnostic injection

There are two different types of diagnostic injections; those that help Mr. Cole interpret scans more clearly and those that help identify the source of pain.

In some scans, including MRI arthrograms and fluoroscopy studies, the affected area will be injected with a special dye or contrast agent. This is especially useful in complex or hard to see areas of your shoulder.

Although scans including MRI, CT, ultrasound and X-ray are good at identifying some problems in your shoulder, they cannot always identify the precise source of your pain. After speaking to you about the nature of your pain, examining your shoulder and, if appropriate, looking at your scans, Mr. Cole may suggest a steroid or anaesthetic injection (and often both). In addition to providing excellent pain relief by numbing the area and reducing the inflammation, such an injection can also help diagnose the problem by confirming the source of the pain.

It is important that such injections are placed in exactly the right spot. Mr. Cole has many years’ experience in administering these injections, many of which are carried out with the added guidance of ultrasound or fluoroscopy.