A fresh warning about the dangers of cortisone injections
I continue to receive inquiries from people who have had cortisone injections to treat injuries to
joints, tendons and ligaments, or have recommended that they undergo such treatment. This type of treatment remains disturbingly common and the consequences can be catastrophic.Read my article here about the dangers of cortisone injections and here.
Photo: Example of chemical excision by cortisone injection causing permanent damage to an important tendon (In this case, tibialis posterior). Only one injection is required to cripple the recipient.
Cortisone is a form of chemical excision. It kills living cells, dissolving living tissue, killing off everything it has contact with. While the relief from pain may be immediate and lasting, the adverse consequences may not appear for weeks or months or even years later. The consequences may be the catastrophic snapping of a tendon or muscle, loss of protective ligaments or the loss of protective cushioning tissue, such as that found in the heel pad. While many people get away without apparent long term consequences, I can tell you that many people definitely are not so fortunate.
Why is it that cortisone continues to be used to widely and for so many different musculoskeletal problems?
- It is cheap, quick and easy and can be done in any medical consulting room
- Relief from pain is instant and it tends to lastJust 1-4 injections seem to do the job which is usually much better and quicker than one would get than other therapies like physio
- If there are any catastrophic consequences, the association with the cortisone injections may never be known and the injecting Dr will never be any the wiser
If you have an injury that fails to respond to rest and/or medical treatment, or are bothered by chronic pain and treatment with cortisone has been recommended, you are welcome to write to me and I will do my best to assist with helping you with deciding on what is the best course of action to take.
Labels: cortisone, injuries, medical error, medicine
2 Comments:
I have metatarsalgia in my middle metatarsal joint in my foot. It only hurts every now and then. The day I went to see a podiatrist, my foot wasn't even hurting that bad, but I wanted to get treatment anyway before my condition got worse. In my mind, I was thinking that all I needed was rest and maybe a shoe insole to provide some relief, since nothing came up abnormal on my foot x-ray. The doc said he was going to treat me with cortisone injections every 2 weeks. I knew nothing of the dangers of cortisone at the time, so I agreed to the shot. About 3 hours after the shot, my foot was in more pain than when I first went to see the doctor. Then on top of my cortisone injections, the doc gave me a bag full of Celebrex to take every day. I just learned about the dangerous side effects of Celebrex, which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. I've only had that 1 injection, and I've already made up my mind that I will never get another one. I can only hope and pray that the 1 injection I did have doesn't permanantly damage my body in any way. Why are doctors still giving cortisone shots with all of the info on how dangerous they are? It frustrates me that I had to pay a $40 copay to this doctor who put me in more pain than when I first came in to his office. Why isn't there a recall on cortisone like other drugs such as Vioxx?
While NSA's may reduce pain and inflammation, they may in fact inhibit proper healing and speed the progress of the very arthritic processes that they were prescribed for.
If a company is making, say, 500 million per year profits from a drug and the consequent litigation from those who are harmed is, say, $700 million that may not be paid out until at least another 10-15 years, I would say that is pretty damn good for the shareholders!
We are seeing similar horrific scenarios with the class of biphoshenate drugs that are harming countless thousands of people.
The downside of cortisone injections is seldom seen until many months or even years later, so the association is seldom made in the official records of adverse reactions.
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