Painful arthritic knees are usually treated with steroid injections. It helps relieve daily pain and stiffness especially in the morning. They are thought to relieve chronic pain, discomfort and inflammatory changes to the joint. What are the benefits and side effects of this method of treatment?

Arthritis steroid injections appear to be safe in the short-term with few side effects. The best advantage it could give is prompt pain relief. This is especially helpful when you need immediate pain control until relief from other medications sets in. It can give you temporary pain relief from a few weeks to a few months, just long enough for you to start an exercise program to strengthen your leg muscles and knees. There are, however, certain issues with using steroid injections. It may cause joint deterioration in the long run due to repeated injections in the joint space especially after two years of regular treatment. There are also some people who cannot tolerate the pain during the injection procedure. If osteorthritis is advanced, same benefits may not be achieved compared to someone with a milder condition.

As a conclusion, arthritis steroid injections are best when used to provide short – term relief from pain. They should not be considered as a long-term treatment plan. Long-term plans should include an exercise program or physical therapy to help strengthen muscles around the knees.

From Dr. Kristie Leong, MD of eHow:

If you have painful osteoarthritis of the knees, should you get arthritis steroid injections? The advantage to getting this treatment is that it can provide prompt pain relief. This can be helpful if you need immediate pain control until the other medications your doctor prescribed start to work. They probably shouldn’t be used as a long-term solution to pain since no one is sure whether they do harm if given over a long period of time. Plus, if your osteoarthritis is advanced, you may not get the same benefits as someone with a milder form of the disease. There’s also the problem of pain during the injection process. Some people consider the prospect of getting an injection into a joint such as the knee to be difficult to tolerate.

Tags: exercise, osteoarthritis, physical therapy, steriod injections

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