Cortisone shots, or injections, can be a safe and effective way to temporarily reduce pain for many people. These are especially effective with back or joint pain. I know several people who get cortisone shots on a regular basis for back pain.
Like any other medication, cortisone shots can cause side effects in some people. The most common side effect is pain and redness at the injection site. However, more serious side effects can occur, though these are considered to be very rare.
My sister has had a lot of health issues throughout her life. One problem she has had for a long time is chronic abdominal pain. She was on pain relievers for a long time before her doctor said she would have to find another way to deal with this issue.
Having no health insurance made it hard for her to find a qualified physician to diagnose the cause of her pain. She went to several doctors who worked on a “sliding fee scale” in an effort to find the problem and hopefully learn some pain management techniques.
Although she had recurring bouts of pancreatitis for a few years, several doctors said this issue is not the cause of her chronic pain. She also had surgery as a teenager in which she was cut down the length of her abdomen. The doctors agreed this would not cause a new pain that many years later.
She found a doctor who suggested that cortisone shots might help reduce her abdominal pain issue. I don’t remember if my sister ever told me why this physician thought this would help. This doctor gave her a series of cortisone shots right in her abdominal muscles.
These cortisone shots did not work for my sister. A short time afterward, she developed a depression in her abdomen. This depression got larger over time and caused more abdominal pain. Eventually she was able to see another doctor. What was discovered was that the muscle in her abdomen had actually deteriorated. This basically left a “hole” in her abdomen with just skin between her organs and the outside world. This new doctor said that it was from the cortisone shots. Not the cortisone itself, but how the injections were given. It is believed that because the physician placed the cortisone shots improperly, it ate away her muscle in the surrounding area.
Most of the uncommon side effects occur if a doctor does not place the cortisone shots properly. There is also the risk of “hitting a nerve”. This can cause either temporary or permanent paralysis.
I checked all over the Internet to see if this has been a side effect for anyone else. I couldn’t find one other person in the available articles who has experienced this exact side effect. I have found some who claim muscle atrophy after cortisone shots. I also discovered that cortisone injections can decrease fatty tissue in the area, but this is supposed to be temporary. My sister had very little fatty tissue on her abdomen, always weighing around the 100 pound mark. Also, the doctor was positive the muscle in that area is gone. As for being temporary, my sister is still living with this after several years. To this day she still doesn’t know why she has chronic abdominal pain.
According to James Groux1, an Ezine article expert, cortisone injections can also cause nerve damage, thinning of the skin and tendon rupture near the site of the injection. His article1 is good at explaining the pros and cons of cortisone shots.
Cortisone shots are meant to reduce inflammation and pain. These injections are best reserved for pain and mobility issues that interfere with quality of life according to the MediResource Clinical Team2. They are very good at helping pain in the joints. Many athletes get cortisone injections in torn muscles with no major side effects. Much of the effectiveness is determined by the skill of the physician administering the shots.
If your doctor recommends cortisone shots for your chronic pain or mobility issues, be sure the administering physician is experienced in delivery of these injections. Do your research on side effects common to your specific condition. Also, don’t just give in to cortisone shots for pain not commonly treated by these injections. It is always best to try to find the source of any pain you have rather than just treat the symptoms.
1 James Groux; Cortisone Shots and the Side Effects You Should Be Aware Of; ezinarticles.com
