Cortisone

A cortisone injection delivers corticosteroid medication directly into a joint, tendon sheath, or soft tissue to reduce pain and inflammation.

They are commonly used for arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, frozen shoulder, and other inflammatory or painful musculoskeletal conditions. This is not an all inclusive list.

Relief may start within 24–48 hours, but sometimes it can take up to a week. Some patients notice improvement right away, while for others it’s more gradual. There is no guarantee that cortisone works at all.

Relief can last anywhere from several weeks to several months. Duration depends on the condition being treated, activity level, and overall health.

Most providers limit cortisone injections to 3–4 per year in the same area, as repeated use may increase the risk of tissue or cartilage damage.

This is dependent on the location of injection and condition being treated. For example, an injection into the knee joint for osteoarthritis needs to be 3 months apart. If a knee gets injected for OA and the patient subsequently has bursitis in the same knee it is possible the patient get another injection in that knee as the bursitis injection would not be going into the joint.

Hip bursitis injections for example can be done every month for a maximum of 3 months before they need a 3 month break.

Timing of injections is ultimately decided between the patient and physician and this is a general guideline.

6. Are cortisone injections painful?

You may feel pain from the needle. The medication itself may cause a temporary “flare-up” of

pain for 1–2 days before improvement sets in.

7. What are the side effects?

Possible side effects include:

 Temporary soreness or swelling at the injection site

 Skin thinning or lightening at the injection site

 Facial flushing or warmth

 Temporary increase in blood sugar (important for people with diabetes)

 Rarely, infection or tendon weakening

8. Will it cure my condition?

It depends on what you are treating. In the case of osteoarthritis, cortisone does not cure the

underlying condition. It helps control pain and inflammation so you can move, exercise, or

undergo physiotherapy more comfortably. In the case of an inflammatory condition such as

tendonitis, it can treat the inflammation, but remains only one part of the treatment regimen.

9. Can I be active after a cortisone injection?

It’s usually recommended to rest the injected area for 24–48 hours after the injection, then

gradually return to normal activity.

10. Is cortisone the same as anabolic steroids?

No. Cortisone is a corticosteroid (anti-inflammatory), not an anabolic steroid (used for muscle

building).

11. Are there people who should not get cortisone injections?

Caution is advised for people with uncontrolled diabetes, active infections, bleeding disorders, or

certain immune conditions. Always review your medical history with your doctor first.

12. Can this be billed to private insurance?

As a physician’s office we are unable to directly bill medications to drug plans. For the

convenience of doing same day injections (versus seeing a patient, providing a prescription and

booking them follow up to come back another day for the injection), we stock the cortisone in

clinic. We provide an ‘insurance prescription’ and a sales receipt so that patients can attempt to

submit to private insurance plans. It is not guaranteed that this will be covered even with a plan

and we cannot submit on any patients behalf.

13. Can you fax a prescription for cortisone to my pharmacy for me to bring to my

appointment?

Before an initial consult, our physicians are unable to provide prescriptions for patients to bring

to their appointments as they are not yet in our circle of care and have not yet been assessed for

appropriateness. If the patient has already been seen and it is a follow up appointment, the

patient can request a prescription for cortisone to be faxed to their pharmacy to pick up ahead of

time and bring with them to their appointment. This must be done well in advance of the

appointment to ensure the physician has time to send in the request and the pharmacy has enough

time to order it in.

You may feel pain from the needle. The medication itself may cause a temporary “flare-up” of pain for 1–2 days before improvement sets in.

Possible side effects include:

Temporary soreness or swelling at the injection site

Skin thinning or lightening at the injection site

Facial flushing or warmth

Temporary increase in blood sugar (important for people with diabetes)

Rarely, infection or tendon weakening

It depends on what you are treating. In the case of osteoarthritis, cortisone does not cure the underlying condition. It helps control pain and inflammation so you can move, exercise, or undergo physiotherapy more comfortably. In the case of an inflammatory condition such as tendonitis, it can treat the inflammation, but remains only one part of the treatment regimen.

It’s usually recommended to rest the injected area for 24–48 hours after the injection, then gradually return to normal activity.

No. Cortisone is a corticosteroid (anti-inflammatory), not an anabolic steroid (used for muscle building).

Caution is advised for people with uncontrolled diabetes, active infections, bleeding disorders, or certain immune conditions. Always review your medical history with your doctor first.

As a physician’s office we are unable to directly bill medications to drug plans. For the convenience of doing same day injections (versus seeing a patient, providing a prescription and booking them follow up to come back another day for the injection), we stock the cortisone in clinic. We provide an ‘insurance prescription’ and a sales receipt so that patients can attempt to submit to private insurance plans. It is not guaranteed that this will be covered even with a plan and we cannot submit on any patients behalf.

Before an initial consult, our physicians are unable to provide prescriptions for patients to bring to their appointments as they are not yet in our circle of care and have not yet been assessed for appropriateness. If the patient has already been seen and it is a follow up appointment, the patient can request a prescription for cortisone to be faxed to their pharmacy to pick up ahead of time and bring with them to their appointment. This must be done well in advance of the appointment to ensure the physician has time to send in the request and the pharmacy has enough time to order it in.