Cortisone Injections

[irishpitbull]

Anyone ever gotten a shot in their knee? Apparently I have some severe patella tendinitis in my knee and the Doc want to shot me up with stuff. MRI and xrays were negative for any damage.

[Norman Clydesdale]

Cortisone will likely make your knee feel great, eliminate the pain, and can lead to the conclusion/impression that everything is all better.
You feel great, you continue to ride, but you never address what was causing the problem. You can end up doing more damage.
However, cortisone can also give you time to relax and heal-if you are disciplined.
Before getting the shot you'll likely be better off by resting for a bit and then starting some legit PT to see if you can correct the underlying cause.
Lots of knee issues that show no damage on the MRI can be fixed or improved through proper PT, exercise, stretching, alignment correction.
Until you know the cause, cortisone can just be a band aid.
Plus, that needle is freaking HUGE. It's roughly 1.5" inches in diameter if I remember correctly, but it will likely feel bigger...........
Knowing what I now know, and with plenty of hindsight and living with injuries for years, I would never have signed up for cortisone injections without figuring out the what was really causing the problem in the first place.

[irishpitbull]

Cortisone will likely make your knee feel great, eliminate the pain, and can lead to the conclusion/impression that everything is all better.
You feel great, you continue to ride, but you never address what was causing the problem. You can end up doing more damage.
However, cortisone can also give you time to relax and heal-if you are disciplined.
Before getting the shot you'll likely be better off by resting for a bit and then starting some legit PT to see if you can correct the underlying cause.
Lots of knee issues that show no damage on the MRI can be fixed or improved through proper PT, exercise, stretching, alignment correction.
Until you know the cause, cortisone can just be a band aid.
Plus, that needle is freaking HUGE. It's roughly 1.5" inches in diameter if I remember correctly, but it will likely feel bigger...........
Knowing what I now know, and with plenty of hindsight and living with injuries for years, I would never have signed up for cortisone injections without figuring out the what was really causing the problem in the first place.

Thank you for this. I'm not a big fan of sticking needles in knee and want to resolve the issue not mask it.

[xcguy]

I've had cortisone shots in my knees, both of them. But very rarely and only just to speed up the lessening of the swelling. I'm under no illusions that the shots are a cure, they just bring down the swelling and help with the healing process. A few a year isn't going to hurt.

[Dan Zulu]

I had some cortosone injections in my knee a few months ago to calm down some post-op issues, and it has worked well for me. Not a fix, but used as a technique to buy the knee some more recovery time.

[kinsler]

The needles maybe a 1.5 inches long, but they are no where close that in diameter! A 21 gauge needle, which is routinely used, is roughly 0.03 inches in diameter, but doesn't mean it's painless!

[41ants]

Both knees, back of my neck, and and both shoulders... I guess I'm a cortisone junkie, but nothing does the trick like cortisone.... Surgery is on the horizon, and but I'm going to keep on the meds and visiting the chiropractor in the meantime

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[jetta_mike]

Cortisone shots will make you feel better, but they will also cause degradation of the tissue it's injected into. Here in Canada you are only allowed two shots into an area, after that it's a no go. Doctor's up here would much rather you went to physio to try and fix the problem, rather than drug it away.

[Prophet Julio]

I have had 2 Cortisone shots in the right knee. My shots were for Bursitis (swollen Bursar Sack). The first shot lasted about a year. The second shot was about 2 years ago and my knee is still fine. I think that chronic swelling and inflammation can be treated by steroids, as the anti inflammatory effect allows you to heal. But the key there is that it allows you to heal. It is not a cure. Cortisone also depresses the auto immune response in the immediate area. If you are experiencing pain with your Patella and the body is unhappy about the swelling and or damage, there may be a bit of an immune system attack on the offending tissue. The Cortisone will tamp that down as well. If you respond like I did, you will have a strong and lasting benefit from the shot.

[mpmffitz]

Great thread, I'm still undecided if I should get one for my heel bone spur plantar Fasciatus.

[solomon707]

I'd do some research and keep the number of shots to a minimum. My dad recently had a total knee replacement. His doctors attributed the damage mostly to repeated cortisone injections from when he played high school football.