Cortisone Injection

What is a cortisone injection?

Cortisone is a powerful anti-inflammatory steroid medication that helps reduce pain by curbing inflammation. Cortisone injections work so well – and so quickly – because most forms of muscle, tendon, bone, and joint pain are a direct result of uncontrolled inflammation.

Although cortisone can be taken orally, the medicine works faster and more effectively when it’s injected directly where it’s needed most. Because the medicine isn’t diluted in your bloodstream before reaching the treatment site cortisone injections are also able to use much smaller doses of medication than cortisone pills.

Virtually any painful muscle, tendon, bone, or joint problem can be treated with cortisone injections, ranging from chronic tendinitis to joint inflammation and rotator-cuff injuries. Dr. Pepper is highly skilled at performing injections in the shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee joints.

Am I a good candidate for a cortisone injection?

Many comprehensive treatment plans for chronic or severe joint and tendon pain incorporate cortisone injections because they provide instant and effective pain relief. This is important because it allows you to restore a more normal range of motion and perform physical-therapy exercises to improve strength and flexibility around the affected joint.

Although cortisone injections can be most effective for treating rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and other inflammatory arthritis conditions, they can also be beneficial if you have:

• Chronic tendinitis
• Bursitis
• Uncontrolled joint swelling
• Carpal-tunnel syndrome

After understanding your medical history and evaluating your condition, Dr. Pepper can determine whether cortisone injections should be part of your overall treatment plan.

Do cortisone injections provide long-term relief?

The results you receive from a cortisone injection largely depend on your condition. If the injection is used to treat a simple inflammatory problem, a single injection could provide complete relief; in some cases, an additional follow-up injection might be required to achieve permanent relief.   

For long-term inflammatory conditions like arthritis, a single cortisone injection can deliver long-term pain relief that lasts up to several months. During this period of relief, many patients use targeted physical therapy to help keep inflammation at bay for an even longer period of time.

How many cortisone injections can I have?

Because receiving cortisone injections too often can weaken your immune system and cause the cartilage in your joint to deteriorate, Dr. Pepper typically limits injections to once every three months for a specific joint. Most people shouldn’t get cortisone injections more often than once every six weeks, and usually no more than four times per year.  

To find out if cortisone injections can benefit you, call Dr. Pepper’s office or schedule an appointment online today.