Cortisone is a synthetic version of a natural hormone produced by the human body. Steroids will not cure your condition, but they’re very good at reducing inflammation and will ease symptoms such as swelling, pain and stiffness. Corticosteroids are commonly used for subacromial impingement, bursitis, rotator cuff injuries, frozen shoulder, arthritis, tennis/golfers’ elbow, carpal tunnel, trigger finger and de Quervain syndrome. 

How effective are steroid injections?

For decades, steroid injections have been part of the standard of care for inflammation around tissue injuries. The goal of these injections is to reduce inflammation, allowing the body to heal the pain as best as possible. Many studies showed good effects in reducing pain and restoring movement however results vary from one patient to another.
What are the risks?
If the injection is done in the correct place the side effects are minimal. Experienced surgeons like Mr Negru have great accuracy in placing the steroids in the right place due to advanced anatomical skills and thousands of arthroscopic surgeries. Most of these injections do not need additional ultrasound guidance reducing the overall cost of the treatment.
Steroid injections have been associated with a short term increase in pain, skin discoloration at the injection site, increased risk of elevated glucose levels in diabetics and fat atrophy.
Special consideration should be given to the increased risk of infection if surgery is performed soon after the injection. Though these injections are usually effective, sometimes they fail to improve the symptoms fully.

Are there other kinds of injections available?

More effective (but expensive) slow-release steroids have been approved for use in the knee recently.
A new group of substances called orthobiologics have been used to improve healing. These include Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and Stem cells. Some studies suggest longer relief with PRP than steroids. 
Mr Negru offers PRP injections for various shoulder and elbow conditions including tendon inflammation, partial tears of the rotator cuff and osteoarthritis. Mr Negru has a vast experience in regenerative treatments being involved in multicentre research in the field. 

What happens after the injection?

As the injection is a mixture of local anaesthetic and steroid there is usually an immediate relief of symptoms due to the effect of the local anaesthetic. It is possible to have a flare up of your pain later and it may take up to 5 days for the full effect of steroids to work. You can drive and work but you should avoid heavy physical activities. Usually you will have another clinical appointment in 6 weeks after the injection.