Steroid Injections and Pain Relief

For many of the orthopaedic procedures performed at the hospital your consultant will advise of any alternative options to surgery that may be available to you.

It is always advisable to explore all other treatments before finally deciding on surgery.

As an example, for cases which ultimately may require surgery such as knee replacement, shoulder replacement etc, painkillers and steroid injections may have been used for a period first to try and solve the problem.

Steroid or cortisone injections are a powerful tool in orthopaedics and can help to treat a number of orthopaedic conditions including arthritis, tennis elbow and tendonitis and are used to treat inflammation. By limiting the inflammation, pain from these conditions is often relieved.

There is a limit to how many steroid injections each patient can receive. Each injection will last for a finite period and it may be that you will still require surgery a period after the initial treatment.

Steroid injections work by decreasing inflammation. Once the inflammation subsides, pain relief will follow immediately following the injection, and inflammation usually begins to subside within a few days. Depending on how quickly the inflammation subsides, timing of pain relief can vary from a few days to a few weeks.

If the inflammation is severe, or if the inflammation has been around for an extended period of time, the injection may take longer to take effect and may require more than one injection.

Your consultant at The Sefton Suite will discuss any questions you may have prior to any treatment.

This procedure will normally be covered by your medical insurance policy but patients are advised to check with their provider prior to any treatment.

If you are paying for your own treatment all costs will be discussed and explained prior to any treatment taking place. This will be confirmed in writing along with any surgeon fees, anaesthetist fees and hospital charges prior to admission.