Injection therapies at Return to Play

Many of our clients are referred to our service as we offer injection therapies.

Some of you may have experienced being referred for injection therapy at a Medical Imaging or Radiology centre. In these circumstances, the Radiology centre performs the procedure, but the initial decision making AND the follow up is with your referring doctor or health professional.

At Return to Play, we take the time to understand your history, your state of stress, and perform any necessary clinical examinations. We may use the support of medical imaging, whether it be performed at a Radiology centre or at Return to Play Medical. Once a diagnosis can be made, it allows for the range of potential treatment options to be discussed. Should this involve an injection of any form, we will discuss this with you, including the necessary information that will encourage discussion around your understanding of the process. As can be appreciated, this doesn't automatically result in the injection being performed on the first consultation.

At Return to Play, it is important to appreciate that nearly all injections we perform do NOT treat life threatening conditions. 

Due to this, any procedure we perform will require your consent (your agreement). It is important that we allow for ample time to explain your procedure to you, and that you have the necessary information, to allow you to decide whether you would like to consent (agree) to the procedure.

We encourage you to ask questions if you have any. We also invite any support person you may want to bring with you, into the room, so they can be present whilst we talk through the information or remain with you as we perform a procedure.

At Return to Play, we may discuss the use of an injectable therapy. Our  more commonly discussed agents are:

 - Corticosteroid injection (aka cortisone) The intent is to effect swelling

 - Hyaluronic Acid (aka the gel) The intent is to effect collagen, which is a building block of cartilage.

 - Dextrose Prolotherapy (aka prolo) The intent is variable, depending on the concentration that we select

 - Platelet Rich Plasma (aka PRP) The intent is to stimulate an injury that has been present for an extended time.

As each injection is vastly different, we have different preparation and post administration suggestions. 

Of specific importance, we currently do NOT inject cortisone and Platelet Rich Plasma at the same time, as they are likely to negate one another in a significant way, reducing the effectiveness of either treatment.