Synovial bursa is a gel-filled sac located in our joints that cushions the bones, muscles, and tendons. They are located at you shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and other joints in your body. When a bursa becomes swollen it can cause pain, and a steroid injection can help reduce the inflammation and alleviate the pain.

A bursa injection is a safe minimally invasive outpatient procedure. A small needle is used to inject the anesthetic and steroid into the bursa. Typically, the procedure takes less than a few minutes and many patients experience pain relief immediately from the local anesthetic.  Pain may return after after a few hours after the anesthetic wears off, but long term pain relief begins in 2 to 3 days after the steroid begins to reduce inflammation.

Most patients do not require any downtime after the procedure and is able to return to work or other daily activities right after the procedure.