What are cortisone injections?
– Cortisone injections are therapeutic steroid injections to treat pain and inflammation in joints.
What are the risks/benefits?
– Benefits: decrease swelling and inflammation which can decrease pain
– Risks: spikes blood sugar levels, pain and redness at the injection site, and in rare cases rebound pain (cortisone flare) and atrophy of adipose tissue causing dimpling and skin discoloration
How long do cortisone injections last?
– Depending on the body part and condition being treated, cortisone injections can last anywhere from four weeks to several months.
How long does a cortisone injection take to work?
– Patients may experience immediate relief from the local anesthetic which lasts 24-48 hours and the cortisone will take at least 3-4 weeks to take full effect.
Can I resume normal activities after an injection?
– Ideally yes, we recommend moving your joints as much as you can after an injection (depending on the body part being treated) to help move the cortisone around in your joint however do not stress the joint (ie strenuous activities). Icing can help relieve some post injection pain.
What if the cortisone injection doesn’t work?
– We recommend waiting at least a month for an injection to reach full benefit, if a patient does not experience significant relief from an injection then other treatments can be discussed such as Hyaluronic Acid or PRP injections or other diagnostic imaging to further assess the body part.
