Steroid Shots Offer Short-Term Relief Only

When people develop tennis elbow, jumper’s knee or other injuries to tendons in the shoulder, heel or hip, they sometimes get cortisone injections to ease pain and inflammation. A new meta-analysis from Australia that reviewed 41 international studies found that these injections alleviate pain better than placebo in the short term…that is to say, less than eight weeks. But medium and long-term outcomes are often worse than more conservative approaches. There are concerns that repeated injections into the tendon might weaken it. Until there is more evidence to support long-term use of cortisone injections, it might be wise to consider other options for pain relief.

[The Lancet, online Oct. 22, 2010]