Cortisone Shot Question

[trickytiger]

I don't like cortisone shots, not one bit! I realize that they are helpful in some cases, but the number of shots you can receive is limited in order to prevent further damage.

In my case, that number was <1. I herniated a tendon sheath in my palm- base of my third finger (too much rock climbing, oops!), and received a cortisone shot to reduce the swelling and lack of motion. It worked- kind of- until about a year later when the problem came back with a vengeance. I apparently did not have a good reaction to the cortisone, and my connective tissue was weakened- and this time I had to undergo surgery to repair it. It was an interesting experience- I couldn't drive a stick shift, write on an overhead while teaching, nor button my own jeans for a while. Good times!

So be careful with the cortisone, okay? It may temporarily relieve pain, but it will not address the underlying issues that are causing your problem. Hope your knee feels better!

[Wahine]

Cortisone works well if the problem is properly diagnosed and the injection technique is good. You have to diagnose the correct cause of the pain in order to know where to inject the cortisone. Even if you know the right tissue you want to treat, if you're technique sucks you won't get the cortisone to the right area. If you inject the cortisone around the area, but close to it, this gets the best result. If you inject directly into the tissue, the cortisone can weaken it and result in a rupture. That's likely what happened to Trickytiger.

Finally, even if the injection is a good one, if you don't eliminate the stress that caused the inflammation in the first place, the pain will come back and any relief you have from the cortisone will most likely be temporary.

[ace]

I trust that my cortisone shot was appropriate under the circumstances. What I have is basically chronic inflammation (and I had diagnostics to rule out everything else, including xray and MRI) from a very bad fall in November, and we tried all the other standard methods (anti-inflammatories, ice, rest, rehab, acupuncture, diet change, supplements) and the inflammation just won't go away, probably because my knee isn't tracking correctly (I'm working on that with my chiropractor). My ortho will only give me two shots, and we only resorted to that because I am going on a bike trip in Italy in May, so I know this isn't a solution to the underlying problem.

[makbike]

I've had cortisone injections in both my wrist and my foot. The injection in my foot hurt like h*ll to the point I thought I was going to pass out and fall off the table. The injection site in my foot was extremely painful for about 24hours following the dreaded injection but after that my foot felt great.

The three injections I had in my wrist worked equally as well and were given without any pain. However, the relief only lasted about 6 - 8 weeks with each at which time the pain and discomfort returned and seemed to be worse than before the injection. I finally saw a chiropractor who worked on my wrist for about 8 weeks and I've been relatively pain free for over a year.

I hope your knee feels better soon.

[Brandi]

I have had a few in my feet as well. And i agree the foot shots were sooooooooo painful and I could barely walk for at least 5 days. My pain has not totally come back but last week it felt like the shots had completly warn off. But this week I am fine go figure. I am dreading the fact that i might have to surgery. I don't want it! But my feet have felt so good with no pinch nerve thingy going on. I swear my doc told me it could be a cure? Was I wrong?

[ace]

It probably depends exactly what your foot issue is, but in my case, I had plantar fascitis, got custom orthotics and a cortisone shot in my foot (and yeah, it HURT), and have been basically pain free for almost 20 years.

[RoadRaven]

Well... I think I can add to the general confusion...

I had a shot in my shoulder pro'ly about 10-15 years ago (I had toddlers, that I remember too). I couldn't lift my arm higher than my shoulder - I got very skilled at pegging up washing with hand.

After a couple of weeks of "putting up with", my partner hauled me off to the doctor - said I would pro'ly get a cortisone shot and warned me how much they could hurt (he'd had a couple in knees due to rugby injuries).

Had the shot - no pain from that... no pain errupting and after two days was regaining use of my arm without the original pain.

For me, cortisone worked, and worked painlessly...