Glucocorticoid Injections Damage Cartilage

Many people often seek out cortisone to deal with pain or discomfort. Although this may provide a temporary decrease in pain, there is reason to believe it can actually cause more damage over the long run.

 

A new study with 140 subjects had half of the patients receive triamcinolone injections into their knee to help treat arthritic pain. The other half received a placebo in the form of saline injections. After two years, the subjects who had received the real injections were not in any less pain and actually exhibited a greater volume of cartilage loss.

 

Conclusions

Although cortisone injections may be tempting, this may not be the best long-term solution for treating joint pain. Individuals should consider the long-term ramifications on the health of the joint before using these injections to treat pain.

 

References

McAlindon, T. E., LaValley, M. P., Harvey, W. F., Price, L. L., Driban, J. B., Zhang, M., & Ward, R. J. (2017). Effect of Intra-articular Triamcinolone vs Saline on Knee Cartilage Volume and Pain in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Jama317(19), 1967-1975