Site Rotation

Site rotation is the practice of cycling injection locations day-over-day rather than repeatedly using the same spot. The motivation is primarily tissue health: repeated trauma to a single SC site can cause lipohypertrophy (firm fatty thickening) or lipoatrophy (localized fat loss), both of which alter local absorption kinetics and produce visible cosmetic changes.

A standard SC rotation pattern divides the abdomen into quadrants and cycles through them, supplementing with the lateral thighs and upper outer arms. Spacing each new injection at least 2 cm from the previous site is the typical guideline.

Site rotation is also relevant for IM injection, though for different reasons: muscle scarring from chronic same-site IM use can affect absorption and produce palpable nodules over time.