Blog Summary:
- Gout is associated with significant episodes of pain, swelling and inflammation which affects your ability to work, rest and play.
- Gout is a manageable condition requiring lifestyle changes, diet modifications and daily medication.
- Gout sufferers experience occasional flare ups in pain and swelling and need fast, safe and effective treatment.
- Ultrasound guided injections is the gold standard method of delivering medication into joints and other soft tissues. It uses real-time ultrasound imaging to position a needle directly into the affected area.
- Complete Injections use ultrasound guided injections to offer affordable, safe and rapid relief from an episode of gout.
- Contact Complete on 020 7482 3875 or email injections@complete-physio.co.uk.
Gout is a painful, at times very debilitating form of arthritis that can affect anyone, regardless of social status or lifestyle. This blog explores the causes of gout, explains its signs and symptoms and reveals the use of ultrasound guided steroid injections in providing fast, safe and effective pain relief.
What is gout?
Gout is caused by an excess of uric acid in the bloodstream, a condition known as hyperuricemia. Uric acid is a natural waste product produced when the body breaks down purines, substances found in certain foods and beverages. Normally, the kidneys filter out uric acid from the blood, which it’s excreted from the body in the urine. However, when the body produces too much uric acid or if the kidneys fail to excrete it efficiently, uric acid can accumulate. When uric acid settles in a joint it crystallises, leading to gout.
What are the symptoms of gout?
Gout often makes its grand entrance with an excruciatingly painful episode known as a gout attack. These attacks typically strike suddenly and without warning, often at night.
Common symptoms of a gout attack include:
- Intense joint pain: The over aching symptom of gout is severe joint pain, often in one but can be in multiple joints at the same time. The most common joint to be affected by gout is the big toe. This pain can be so excruciating that even the weight of a bedsheet can cause agony.
- Joint swelling and inflammation: The affected joint becomes swollen, red, and warm to the touch. Inflammation is the body’s response to the presence of excessive uric acid crystals within the affected joint.
- Limited mobility: Due to the swelling and pain, mobility in the affected joint is severely restricted causing significant pain with walking.
What are the risk factors and triggers of gout?
Several factors can trigger a gout flare up or increase the risk of developing the condition:
- Diet: Rich foods (high in purine), such as red meat, seafood, and alcohol, can contribute to elevated uric acid levels.
- Obesity: Excess body weight can increase the risk of gout due to higher levels of uric acid.
- Genetics: A family history of gout can make you more susceptible to the condition.
- Other coexisting medical conditions: Certain medical conditions, such as hypertension, kidney disease, and diabetes, can increase the risk of gout.
- Medications: Some medications, like diuretics and aspirin, can affect uric acid levels and increase the likelihood of gout.
What are the treatment and management options of gout?
Gout is a manageable condition, and treatment typically involves controlling (long-term) uric acid levels using specific medications and diet control as well as addressing the immediate pain and inflammation of gout attacks using ultrasound guided steroid injections.
Common management and treatments techniques include:
- Medication: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and colchicine are often prescribed to relieve pain and inflammation during an acute gout attack. For long-term management, medications that lower uric acid levels, such as allopurinol, are used.
- Lifestyle changes: Dietary modifications, weight management, and the reduction of alcohol consumption can help lower uric acid levels.
- Hydration: Staying well-hydrated can assist in flushing excess uric acid from the body.
- Ultrasound guided steroid injections: Ultrasound guided steroid injections(the focus of this blog) are effective at providing rapid pain relief from an episode of gout.
As previously discussed, gout is often characterised by sudden and severe attacks of joint pain, most commonly affecting the big toe. The pain, redness, and swelling associated with a gout flare up can make even the slightest movement excruciating.
Traditional treatments used to manage gout cannot always stop these occasional flare ups. Unfortunately gout related flare ups do occur and when they do cause significant pain and loss of function. When you are suffering from a flare up of gout you need fast and effective pain relief.
Ultrasound Guided Steroid Injections For Gout
Ultrasound-guided steroid injections are a safe, effective and rapid way to manage gout flare-ups. This technique combines the use of precision, real time ultrasound imaging with the effectiveness of corticosteroid injections to deliver fast pain relief.
Why choose an ultrasound guided injection?
- Needle guidance: A clinical expert uses an ultrasound machine to create real-time images of the affected joint. This provides a clear view of the internal structures, such as uric acid crystal deposits and inflamed tissues.
- Precise injections: Using the ultrasound image as a guide, a local anaesthetic is administered to numb the area, followed by a corticosteroid injection directly into the affected joint. The steroid acts as a potent anti-inflammatory agent, reducing pain and swelling.
- Fast relief: The combined effects of the anaesthetic and corticosteroid offer fast pain relief, allowing you to return to pain free activities as soon as possible.
- Reduced side effects: The localised treatment minimises the systemic side effects often associated with oral medications.
- Reduced injection complications: Having the ability to watch the injection taking place means that delicate structures such as nerves and blood vessels can be avoided. This results in less post injection complications and ultimately a more comfortable injection experience.
Why choose Complete Injections to treat your Gout flare?
Complete injections is a highly respected and well established ultrasound guided injection service with a team of specialist physiotherapists who are experienced in providing ultrasound diagnosis of gout and undertaking ultrasound guided treatments for this condition. All our experts are fully qualified musculoskeletal sonographers, advanced level physiotherapists and injection therapists who are trained to prescribe the most effective medications to treat your symptoms. Complete injections offers a one stop service that is an affordable, safe and effective option, providing you with rapid pain relief from the misery of a gout flare up.
To book an appointment or to know more contact us Complete on 020 7482 3875 or email injections@complete-physio.co.uk.