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Before you have a painful cortisone (corticosteroid) injection for your knee osteoarthritis, it's worth understanding that the relief you obtain can be significant but often is only temporary.

A recent review, by medical doctors, of several clinical research studies on corticosteroid injections for knee osteoarthritis, concluded that while you may experience some relief, it is likely to only last for about a week.

Doctor Hepper and his colleagues reported the following, "Results of corticosteroid compared with placebo showed both a statistically and clinically significant reduction in pain at 1 week, with an average difference between groups of 22 percent." They go on to state, "We concluded that intra-articular corticosteroids reduce knee pain for at least 1 week and that intra-articular corticosteroid injection is a short-term treatment of a chronic problem."

Click here to read the abstract (summary) of the study.

The take-home message is that steroid injections for the knee can sometimes be effective. There are a number of high quality studies that have concluded that for knee osteoarthritis, hands-on therapy and exercises prescribed by your physical therapist can achieve long-term results.

If you have questions about physical therapy for your arthritis problem, give us a call.