Ultrasound-Guided Injection Clinic Overview

A USGI Clinic physician refers to a scan with a patient.

Within the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), the Ultrasound-Guided Injection Clinic features a team of specialized physicians, nurses and procedural technicians who can help you get you back to doing what you love. The clinic features specialized treatments to improve joint and soft tissue pain from conditions like arthritis and tendinitis.

Regain quality of life without surgery

PM&R is a nonsurgical department: All our physicians are highly trained and experienced in alternative, minimally invasive treatment options.

Our physicians perform ultrasound-guided injections at our campuses in Phoenix, Arizona, Jacksonville, Florida, and Rochester, Minnesota, as well as at some Mayo Clinic Health System clinics.

The frustration that comes from injury or overuse can sometimes feel overwhelming, but you can feel confident that our physicians are here to help you live your best life.

Treatment options to meet your needs

A couple ride bicycles.

Corticosteroid injection. Cortisone shots, sometimes called steroid injections, are the most common type of shot performed at the Ultrasound-Guided Injection Clinic. They can help relieve pain and inflammation in a specific area of your body. The injections usually contain corticosteroid medication and a local anesthetic.

These shots go into joints or soft tissue structures such as the ankle, elbow, hip, knee, shoulder, spine or wrist. Even the small joints in the hands or feet might benefit from a cortisone shot. Recovery time is minimal and there are very few common side effects.

A USGI Clinic ultrasound scan of a prone patient

Hyaluronic acid injection, also known as viscosupplementation. Hyaluronic acid injections can treat osteoarthrosis in patients whose prior treatment therapy and oral pain medications have not worked well enough.

Hyaluronic acid is similar to a substance that occurs naturally in the joints. It acts as a lubricant, reduces inflammation in the joints and helps the joints to work properly. The medication is known by several different brand names, such as Synvisc-One, Orthovisc, Euflexxa, and others.

A person runs along a beach.

Aspiration. When excess fluid has built up in or around joints, your doctor may recommend an aspiration to drain the fluid, reduce pain and treat inflammation.

Using ultrasound to examine and assess excess fluid, highly trained Ultrasound-Guided Injection Clinic physicians insert a needle into the affected area and draw fluid into a syringe. In most cases both the aspiration and an injection of corticosteroid medication can be done in the same procedure.

In some cases, your referring provider may want this fluid analyzed after it has been drained. If so, our trained procedural technicians will send the collected fluid to Mayo Clinic Laboratories for examination.

New therapeutic options. Beyond the injection therapies described above, PM&R has made recent advances in biotherapeutics and advanced procedures that may be good options for you. Please contact our team to get a consultation with our PM&R physician specialists to assess the best procedure and options for you.

Better care for you: Why the Ultrasound-Guided Injection Clinic uses ultrasound

A patient's knee is scanned for injection.

Historically and traditionally, injections and aspirations have been performed by touch, also known as palpation, or by fluoroscopy, a type of continuous X-ray imagery.

However, fluoroscopy doesn't show fluid or soft tissue — such as tendons or bursae — as clearly as ultrasound does. Ultrasound-guided procedures are safe and convenient, and avoid radiation exposure for patients.

The injection clinic uses ultrasound equipment that provides our doctors a live-action display during procedures to ensure accurate needle placement. The technology lets our PM&R physicians perform minimally invasive procedures and injections with more accuracy and effectiveness.

Contact

Arizona

  • Mayo Clinic Ultrasound-Guided Injection Clinic
  • 5881 E. Mayo Blvd.
    Phoenix, AZ 85054
  • Phone: 480-342-4699

Florida

  • Mayo Clinic Ultrasound-Guided Injection Clinic
  • 4500 San Pablo Road
    Jacksonville, FL 32224
  • Phone: 904-953-0891

Minnesota

  • Mayo Clinic Ultrasound-Guided Injection Clinic
  • 200 First St. SW
    Rochester, MN 55905
  • Phone: 507-284-2511
March 13, 2024