Cortisone Shots Do More Harm Than Good? Knee Injections Could Actually Make Arthritis Worse, Major Study Suggests

Study Finds ^ | June 09, 2025 | Dr. Upasana Upadhyay Bharadwaj (University of California, San Francisco)

[yldstrk]

One cortisone shot sure helped me when I tore my meniscus. Never needed surgery that time.

[Red Badger]

Yes, it’s good for injuries from sports or work accidents. I’ve had a few shots myself over the years.

But this article is about arthritic degradation and the progress of the disease................

[mewzilla]

Thanks for the thread! Here's a paper from last year, fascinating read on hyaluronic acid treatment...

Evaluation of single and multiple hyaluronic acid injections at different concentrations with high molecular weight in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis

[Cold Heart]

This was known to many, 20 years ago. Nice to see the medical establishment is catching up.

[Olog-hai]

Wonder why I should buy what a study by one alleged Dr. Upasana Upadhyay Bharadwaj at UCSF says . . .

[yldstrk]

But this article is about arthritic degradation and the progress of the disease
******
Oh, ok. I see.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

One treats inflammation of the soft tissue, the other treats the joint.

If you just treat the inflammation and let the joint continue to grind of course it will get worse.

[VeniVidiVici]

I get both injections. The gel doesn’t seem to do much but the cortisone works great - for about a week.

[Red Badger]

There should be a substance that is injectable to act as a ‘lubricant’ until the joint heals.....something like silicone grease that’s used in the electronics industry as a thermal conductive compound...........

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[Faith65]

Thanks
BFL

[normbal]

Ditto here.

As a physician (DO, Family Medicine) myself, I find that, lately, the effectiveness has mostly worn off within 1-2 weeks and I’m munching percocet around noon where about a decade ago I could get through the day, skip some days, mostly starting late evening/bedtime just so I could GET to sleep.

I wake up with knee pain. Haven’t broken stride more than twice in the past ten years where before I WAS running 7 minute miles (SEAL type runs, 4 miles under 30 minutes) but the last arthroscopy left me with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD) and I get knee cortisone shots maybe twice a year. I got my last one 6 weeks ago. My LAST one. I’m going to push for knee replacement.

Synvisc? The other one too, tried for two years with no noticeable effect.

Oh, and Garlic, Turmeric, Ginger, Curry, CBD, Relief Factor, Kratom, bad jokes, all.

The “RSD” is controlled, mostly, just annoying at this point.

The knee pain is a real show stopper.

[kaktuskid]

There is the alternative of killing the nerves that transfer the pain. Done by a long needle and radio frequency ablation.

[kaktuskid]

Your body gets used to the cortisone...which is why it stops working

[mass55th]

Arthritis doesn’t matter when you have bone on bone in both knees, and cortisone shots give you relief.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

There is the alternative of killing the nerves that transfer the pain. Done by a long needle and radio frequency ablation.

Yeah. About a year ago the insurance companies decided that was "experimental", after all it had only been used for a decade, and that it would no longer be covered.

[NCVA]

Just got my first cortisone shot end of May. Pain went away for about a week but starting to return along with popping sensations. PT says my knees are shot.

[LegendHasIt]

Cortisone injections worked wonderfully for me when my knees were ruined by too many standing parachute landings and too many hundreds of miles carrying 100 pound + backpacks up and down mountains.

But I gotta keep swallowing glucosamine pills daily if I want to keep them working well and painlessly without regular cortisone injections.

[Ronaldus Magnus III]

Many moons ago, after 15 years at a large supermarket chain, my lower back decided it had had enough. After some significant physical therapy, the orthopedist suggested a steroid injection into the problem area of the spine. They used, back then, a black & white monitor (xray? ultrasound?) to see and put the steroid where it will do the most good. So.....they numb the skin area, and then put the needle in. Once they believe they are in the right spot, they put a saline solution to see if the medicine will go into the spine, or just around the outside of the spine. The first attempt failed, the second attempt was successful, and they put in the steroids.

For three days, not only did my back feel much better, I felt like Superman. I started singing “here I come to save the day!”

The steroids wore off, and my back still needed A LOT of work. Later on, the doctor asked if I wanted another steroid injection. I stated that physical therapy results in slow, steady, real improvement.