They'll inject the medicine directly into the area of your body that's experiencing symptoms. It can take around a week for a cortisone shot to take effect, but once it does, it should relieve your symptoms for at least a few weeks.
After an injection, your joint may feel better for several months –sometimes as long as a year. Some people get increased pain and swelling in their joint immediately after having the injection. This pain tends to go away after a few days.
After a steroid injection, you can return to most daily activities, including walking. The treating clinician may suggest against walking a distance/many steps. You should have no issues with walking out of the clinic upon completion of the injection.
Cortisone shots commonly cause a temporary flare in pain and inflammation for up to 48 hours after the injection. After that, your pain and inflammation of the affected joint should decrease, and can last up to several months.
Generally, pain after cortisone injection is the most common side effect. We call this reaction a cortisone flare. Usually, a cortisone flare starts after 6 hours and lasts up to 5 days. One study suggested that a cortisone flare can last up to 4 days.
This is called a cortisone flare reaction. In most cases, the discomfort from a flare reaction is treated with rest, ice, and over-the-counter medication. If pain and other symptoms don't go away in a day or two, or get even worse, call your healthcare provider.
The shot will be administered into the affected joint. After the injection, it is important to massage the area or move it to disperse the medication. Ice should be applied to the injection site for at least the next 48 hours to help reduce potential pain and swelling.
Depending on where cortisone shots were administered, you may need to restrict your activities for several days for the medication to take full effect. We highly recommend refraining from strenuous exercise or activities that put undue strain on the affected area for at least 24 to 48 hours after receiving injections.
As a general rule, we suggest that you rest for a minimum of 2 days after a steroid injection. After 2 days, we would suggest that you can gradually build up your activity levels.
You should feel relief from symptoms like pain and swelling around a week after your injection. If you have diabetes, talk to your provider about how much (and for how long) a cortisone shot will affect your blood sugar level. Most people have higher than usual blood sugar for a few days after their injection.
Many cortisone injections also include a numbing medication, such as lidocaine, to help make the shot more comfortable. “How the injection feels depends on where you're getting it. Many injections are not painful or only have a few seconds of discomfort,” Dr. Halim says.
Pain and Swelling (Cortisone Flare)
The injected cortisone medication can crystallize inside the body. The crystals can cause pain and inflammation that is worse than the pain and inflammation caused by the condition being treated. This side effect is called a cortisone flare.
The NHS suggests that you have no more than three injections per year and they should be at least 6 weeks between injections https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/steroid-injections/. If you have arthritis and we feel you may require multiple injections then we often use a substance called hyaluronic acid.
A corticosteroid injection will usually take 3 to 7 days to begin to have a positive effect. It may take up to two weeks for the medicine to decrease the inflammation to a point where pain is improved. The full benefit of the corticosteroid may not be felt until 6 weeks after injection.
It's OK to shower. Watch for signs of infection, including increasing pain, redness and swelling that last more than 48 hours.
If a physician does think corticosteroids are the best option, shots are typically injected directly into a particular area of the body for local relief. Shortly after a cortisone injection, the anti-inflammatory action reduces swelling and pain.
Some surgeons may give you permission to do anything you feel up to. Others have a specific protocol they want you to follow. As a general rule, patients advised receiving a steroid injection into a joint are cautioned against any heavy lifting or exercise.
Should I Use Ice or Heat After Cortisone Injection? If you're having pain from a cortisone flare during those first 24-48 hours, you can apply ice to the injection site. Do not use a heating pad.
Although corticosteroid injections can ease arthritis symptoms, they have limits. They can't repair damaged cartilage or slow the progression of arthritis. Their relief is only temporary. Most experts say you should limit injections to no more than once every three or four months.
Hyaluronic Acid Injections (Viscosupplementation)
Unlike cortisone shots, hyaluronic acid injections don't just suppress the feeling of pain being experienced, they reduce friction in the joints and help protect your cartilage and bone from further damage.
Hyaluronic acid injection is used to treat knee pain caused by osteoarthritis (OA) in patients who have already been treated with pain relievers (e.g., acetaminophen) and other treatments that did not work well.
Corticosteroid Injections
Although corticosteroids injected directly into the knee do not heal a meniscus tear, they may reduce swelling and discomfort. Some people may experience long-lasting relief. Your doctor may inject a small amount of anesthetic into the knee along with corticosteroids.
Corticosteroids can provide short term relief from knee pain but over time the beneficial effects will wear off. Because of this, the utility of corticosteroid injections is very situational. For example, professional athletes will often get injections to make it through key games during their season.
A common treatment for your knee osteoarthritis may be making it worse, studies say. The corticosteroids used to treat osteoarthritis pain may worsen the condition over time, two new studies have suggested.