Lately, a lot of our clients had been asking us question whether if they need to take cortisone or steroid injection immediately or take their time.
What is it exactly?
Corticosteroids are medicines that mimic your body’s natural corticosteroid hormones (cortisone and hydrocortisone) produced by the adrenal glands above your kidneys. They are not the same as anabolic steroids sometimes misused by athletes and body builders, and they don’t increase your muscle strength
Pros
This intervention is sometimes known as "miracle treatment" as it may take away your pain quite instantly, and providing great short term pain relief for those who are in agony.
Cons
Unfortunately, despite its "miracle" result there are down sides to it
- Less likely to result in full recovery on your injury: reducing inflammation is only masking serious injury. As this injection does not treat the cause of the issue, your injury is likely to get back to you.
- Studies have shown that high concentrations of cortisone or repetitive use can lead to tissue damage, which can lead to softening of cartilage in joints and/or weakening of tendons.
Cortisone is often appropriate in cases where you have trialed conservative management and the inflammation is not settling after a 6-12 week period. Sometimes pain can be a barrier to your progress and cortisone can be used to settle down symptoms and allow you to progress your strengthening program with your physiotherapist.
