What Are Corticosteroid Injections?

Cortisone Or Corticosteroid Injections

Corticosteroids are powerful anti-inflammatory medications. Cortisone injections (injecting corticosteroids) may offer fast acting relief to inflamed muscles, joints, tendons, and bursa. In terms of the risk to benefit ratio corticosteroid injections are worth considering in the management of joint and soft-tissue conditions when coupled with an appropriate rehabilitation program. As cortisone injections can lead to significant improvement in pain, inflammation and function.

What Are Corticosteroids?

Cortisone is a steroid medications effective in reducing inflammation. Cortisone is one type of corticosteroid. Corticosteroids can be taken in many ways by mouth, inhaled, applied to the skin, given intravenously (into a vein), or injected into the tissues of the body. Cortisone injections refers to the injection of a corticosteroid into the soft tissues and joints.

Physiotherapists Do Not Administer Corticosteroid Injections

Many different healthcare professionals are licensed to administer cortisone injections of which physiotherapists are not one.
As a physiotherapist who can’t not administer cortisone injections typically if I feel a cortisone injection is a course of action worth exploring then I will generally refer the patient on a sports medicine specialist or orthopedic surgeon as seems appropriate.

Is A Cortisone Injection Just A Pain Reliever?

Corticosteroids are not pain relievers. Corticosteroid injections reduce inflammation so when they relieve the individuals pain it is because they have reduced the inflammation that would be causing pain. Inflammation for which cortisone injections are given can recur and in some situations the relief is only anticipated to be short term, however cortisone injections are frequently administered with the intention of providing long term relief to the patient.
Relief from a cortisone injection can in some circumstances begin almost immediately after the procedure, but in some patients it can take a week or more for relief. A cortisone injection administered for certain conditions may be curative and “fix” the issue but with some conditions the symptoms of the condition recur after weeks or months. In this situation, under counsel with the specialist another cortisone injection can be given if this seems appropriate.

Disclaimer: Sydney Physio Clinic provides this information as an educational service and is not intended to serve as medical advice. Anyone seeking specific advice or assistance on What Are Cortisone Injections? should consult his or her physiotherapist, sports medicine specialist, orthopedic surgeon or otherwise appropriately skilled practitioner.