Blog for Panorama Orthopedics
Shooting for pain relief; when cortisone can help
The chances are, you’ve heard of cortisone. In fact, you probably have cortisone cream in your medicine cabinet at home.
If you struggle with persistent joint pain in your shoulders, you may also be familiar with cortisone injections. Cortisone is a steroid hormone that acts as an anti-inflammatory and is used to treat many different types of pain.
Dr. Douglas A. Foulk with the Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center in Golden recently explained the benefits of cortisone injections to a group of patients suffering from shoulder pain.
“Cortisone is a really good drug for this problem because we can deliver cortisone directly to that location,” he said. “Combining that with initially some education, followed by a home exercise program, and modifying activities, can lead to a very successful non-operative treatment program about 90 percent of the time.”
Cortisone can be successfully used to address shoulder impingement, which is basically when different parts of the shoulder are pinching or rubbing together, creating uncomfortable friction. You can read more about shoulder impingement from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Dr. Foulk told the group that occasional cortisone injections can be quite successful in addressing the condition if there is not a tear in the shoulder’s rotator cuff.
“For the most part, patients usually respond very, very well to conservative treatment,” he said. “It’s not that common that the impingement patients will need surgery.”
If you have been told that you do have a tear in your rotator cuff, however, cortisone injections may not be the answer for you. “Cortisone will never heal a tear,” Dr. Foulk explains. “It will put a band aide on your tear and make it feel better, but it will not heal a tear.”
Dr. Foulk also told the group that patients who receive cortisone shots should be prepared for their shoulder to feel worse for a few days, before it starts to feel better. “It can have a bit of a delayed effect,” he said.
The information on this site is purely informational and may not pertain to your specific ailment. It should not be taken in lieu of a doctor's advice!
