The potential scope of this topic is vast and no attempt will be made here to cover all the ground. The aim is to help the generalist who does not have special expertise in sports-related injuries in the approach to diagnosis and management. Sportsmen and women are different from the rest. They are driven. They are passionate. They are eager to return to their activity. A cursory examination followed by the advice to “just rest it until it gets better” is not good enough.
Some people earn a living by playing sports and a number earn millions of pounds a year in doing so. Most professional sportsmen are rather less highly paid but it is still their livelihood and even amateurs may be very dedicated to what they do. It is a very important part of their lives. The term “sportsman” here includes all who partake in physical activity, both male and female, as a hobby or as a career. This will include dancers and some occupations such as firefighters.
Golfers and Tennis Elbow Cortisone Injection at The Fitzwilliam Square Clinic
Dr. John J. Ryan
Golfers also called medial epicondylitis, upsets the muscles on the inside of your elbow. These are the ones that connect your inner forearm to your elbow. It’s caused by the kind of pressure simulated by swinging a golf club.
Getting an Injection in Your Elbow
It doesn’t hurt, first of all. After making you comfortable in the office, your doctor numbs the area where the injection goes. The injection itself takes just a few minutes. Afterward, you should feel immediate pain relief, as the injection also contains a local anesthetic for short-term relief. After that wears off, your pain may return, but once the steroid medication starts working, in a few days, you should feel a significant pain reduction.
Cortisone injections are safe, and their effectiveness lasts for several months. You can only have these tennis elbow injections or golfer’s elbow cortisone injections three or four times a year. They are not an answer for chronic pain.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is an Elbow Injection? How Does It Work?
An elbow injection is done to relieve pain, inflammation, and stiffness in the joint. The shot consists of a corticosteroid and anesthetic. It works by relieving the pain and inflammation in your elbow joint to increase your range of motion.
Are Elbow Steroid Injections Safe?
Steroid elbow injections are safe when limited to 4 times a year. Larger doses can have potential side effects. Side effects may include worsening arthritis pain, weakening of tendons and bones, or damage to the cartilage. However, one injection should be enough to relieve your symptoms. So only use elbow injections when recommended by your doctor.
Are Elbow Injections Painful?
The cortisol shot may cause some discomfort at the injection site. The level of pain depends on the injection location and needle size. A smaller injection location causes more discomfort. Larger needles also, as expected, cause more pain so ask your doctor to use a smaller gauge. An anesthetic is administered at the same time as the corticosteroid to decrease the number of shots. But you can also ask your doctor for a numbing cream before the shot.
How Long Does It Take for the Elbow Injection To Work?
How long an elbow injection takes to work depends on the individual. Some patients experience relief right away. While others say they feel better within 24 to 48 hours. The injection works by relieving inflammation. So wait a few weeks to schedule a follow-up to determine the full results.
How Long Does an Elbow Injection Last?
Relief from a steroid shot lasts from 6 to 12 months. Elbow injections work better if used in combination with physical therapy. It also depends on what the injection was used for. Steroid shots for joint pain tend to last longer.
What To Expect After the Elbow Injection?
Right after your elbow injection, you can expect a “steroid flare-up”. This means you may experience some inflammation at the injection site. This should subside within 48 hours. After a few days, you should expect relief from pain and inflammation. This makes it easier for you to participate in physical therapy.
What Can I Do After the Elbow Injection?
You can go home, drive, and go to work right after your elbow injection. Try to avoid strenuous activity. If you plan on going to the gym keep your workouts light at first. Keep an eye on the injection site for minor side effects such as allergic reactions or infections. If you have a rash, swelling, or fever call your doctor.
How Long After an Elbow Injection Can I Exercise?
You should remain active after a cortisone shot but try not to overexert yourself. Make sure you don’t feel any pain or discomfort when working out because this can cause damage to the joint.
Can I Shower After an Elbow Injection?
You can shower right after your elbow infection. Avoid bathtubs, hot tubs, saunas, or swimming for 2 days after your shot.
2. Plantar Fascitis Steroid Injections at Fitzwilliam Square Dr. John J Ryan
- Morton’s neuroma
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Other types of arthritis, including reactive arthritis
- First metatarsophalangeal joint pain
- Tendonitis.
Getting the shot is a simple procedure done right in our pain management office. Depending on the reason for your steroid injection in the foot, your physician may put all of the medication in one insertion point or in several, to surround and coat the problem area with the medicine. The whole procedure takes less than 15 mins.
Effects from a Cortisone Injection for Foot Pain
The injection ingredients include saline, steroids for inflammation, and a local anesthetic for immediate pain relief. So the injection eases your pain right away. But after the anesthetic dissipates, within about three hours, the pain often returns.
The steroid anti-inflammatory drugs often don’t start working for a couple of days after your injection. At that point, you’ll experience what pain relief from a steroid injection in the foot feels like. And relief lasts for several months.
You may notice some minor side effects from the injection. Most often, these are temporary. Side effects include:
- An increase in your blood sugar levels, especially if you’re diabetic
- A flush of warmth in your face or chest
- A spike in the inflammation and pain in your foot for up to two days, before the corticosteroid medicine starts working
Recovering from a Steroid Injection in the Foot
While you should feel pain relief immediately after the injection due to the anesthetic, you have to be watchful for a few days before the steroid medication starts working. The normal precautions of most medical treatments apply for a cortisone injection in the foot:
- Keep the injection site clean
- Look out for infection symptoms: increased pain and swelling or a fever
- Avoid stressing your problem foot; don’t go from your doctor’s office to a long hike across town
- Stay off your foot, if possible
- Apply a cold pack, but not heat, to the insertion point if it’s sore or swollen
- Don’t soak your foot in water, which includes in your tub or in a Jacuzzi
You may feel a little more pain in the days that follow your injection, but the pain should disappear by the third day, as the steroids start working. If the pain is drastically worse or you come down with a fever, contact your doctor right away.
More Pain Relief from Steroid Injections
The pain-relieving properties and anti-inflammatory effects of steroid injection in the foot can also help you deal with pain in other parts of your body.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Foot Injection? How Does It Work?
A steroid foot injection is aimed at reducing inflammation and swelling of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments within your foot joint. In most cases, less inflammation means less pain. A foot injection is an outpatient procedure performed right in your doctor’s office.
Are Foot Steroid Injections Safe?
Steroid injections in your foot are considered a safe and effective treatment option. Side effects tend to be minor and rare, they are easily minimized in the trusted and experienced hands of the experts at our sports injury clinic.
Are Foot Injections Painful?
You may experience a certain degree of pain at the injection site. The level of pain depends on your pain tolerance. Several factors that influence the pain of the injection are the location of the injection and the gauge and size of the needle. Patients report that injections into the sole of the foot are especially painful. Injections tend to hurt most when the cortisone is delivered to a small space. The pain level encountered during the procedure can be significantly reduced if the injection is performed by experienced specialists at our sports injury clinic.
How Long Does It Take for the Foot Injection To Work?
A steroid foot injection begins to work immediately after the procedure. The inflammation tends to subside within a few days. The timing of pain relief varies from a few days to a few weeks. It depends on how quickly the inflammation disappears. Patients who have undergone a cortisone shot at Fitzwilliam Square treatment report a gradual decrease in symptoms over a span of 2 days to 2 weeks. In the case of severe or long-term inflammation, the injection may take longer to kick in and may require more than one injection.
How Long Does a Foot Injection Last?
The benefits of steroid injection can vary depending on the individual. Typically, foot injections last anywhere between 6 to 12 months if used alone. Longer-term relief can be achieved if a foot injection treatment is combined with other rehabilitation treatments like physical therapy.
What To Expect After the Foot Injection?
Following your steroid foot injection, you will experience relief from your pain either immediately or within the first 48 hours. Your individual case is influenced by a variety of factors, including your underlying conditions and your age. Pain relief will assist in restoring the function of your foot that has been impaired by inflammation.
What Can I Do After the Foot Injection?
The whole process takes 30 minutes, including the time needed for monitoring. You can walk out of the office and resume your normal activities on the same day as the procedure. But, you should stay away from any strenuous activity involving your foot for at least 48 hours.
How Long After a Foot Injection Can I Exercise?
During your recovery period, you should stay away from any strenuous activity that involves the injection site for at least 48 hours. You may experience an increase in pain or have a flare-up around that time. This is considered normal and temporary. Therefore, you should not worry. Post-injection pain can be managed by ice and over-the-counter painkillers.
The most common reaction to a steroid injection in your foot is cortisone flare-ups. It tends to subside when the cortisone starts working. If you encounter severe pain around the injection site that does not go away for a few days or other serious complications, call your healthcare provider immediately.
Can I Shower After a Foot Injection?
It is okay to take a shower on the same day of the procedure. But, you have to avoid applying heat to the injection area for at least 72 hours. Hot packs, saunas, or steam rooms during this period are strictly forbidden.
Dr. John J. Ryan