What are steroid injections?
Steroid injections, are anti-inflammatory medicines used to treat a range of conditions.
They can be used to treat joint pain, inflamed tendons or bursas.
What are the benefits of steroid injections?
Steroid injections can’t treat the underlying cause of your condition, but they can treat the symptoms.
Some steroid injections start to relieve pain within hours. Your Physiotherapist might call these short-acting soluble steroids. Soluble means that the drug dissolves quickly in your body and starts working quickly.
Other steroid injections take around a week to become effective but can ease your symptoms for two months or longer. These are described as less soluble, because the drug takes longer to get into your system.
How quickly the treatment works, and how long it lasts will also depend on your condition.
What happens during treatment with steroid injections?
Depending on where the pain and inflammation is, steroids can be injected:
- directly into an inflamed joint – this is known as an intra-articular injection
- into the soft tissue close to the joint – this is called a peri-articular injection
- into a muscle – this is called an intra-muscular injection.
You might be advised to wait for 10 to 15 minutes in the clinic after your steroid injection. If you do have any kind of reaction to the injection, it would be helpful to be around healthcare professionals.
Loose-fitting clothes may be more comfortable if you’re going for a steroid injection.
Recovery from steroid injections
Most people have steroid injections without any side effects. They can be a little uncomfortable at the time of injection, but many people feel that this is not as bad as they feared.
Occasionally people notice a flare-up in their joint pain within the first 24 hours after an injection. This usually settles by itself within a couple of days, but taking simple painkillers like paracetamol will help.
Injections can occasionally cause some thinning or changes in the colour of the skin at the injection site, particularly with the stronger ones.
Very rarely you may get an infection in the joint at the time of an injection. If your joint becomes more painful and hot you should see your doctor immediately, especially if you feel unwell.
Contact us if you would like further information on Steroid injections 01706 522277 or email us on adminhephysioclinic.net