# Cortisone shots



## Lisa (Jun 15, 2006)

My hubby has had chronic neck and shoulder pain for the last 6 or 7 months.  He is scheduled for a CT scan in the next few days and then is suppose to get cortisone shots in his neck.

Just curious if anyone has had to have them and if they were successful or not and exactly how painful are they?


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## BrandiJo (Jun 15, 2006)

i refused cortisone shots for my shoulder, to many bad side effects i didnt wanna risk it. Id have to look to find my list again but they had some aweful ones


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## pstarr (Jun 15, 2006)

Cortisone shots have become a kind of "new cure" for such ailments.  They're usually not pleasant - sometimes they work, but only temporarily.  They usually just mask the symptoms.

You'll know better what your husband needs after the CT scan.


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## Jonathan Randall (Jun 16, 2006)

Lisa said:
			
		

> My hubby has had chronic neck and shoulder pain for the last 6 or 7 months. He is scheduled for a CT scan in the next few days and then is suppose to get cortisone shots in his neck.
> 
> Just curious if anyone has had to have them and if they were successful or not and exactly how painful are they?


 
Personal, but professionally unqualified, opinion from hearing coworker's experiences are that they provide temporary relief at great long term cost. If at all possible, I'd avoid it. I have had chronic neck and back pain (degenerative disk disease runs in my family) but ameliorated much of it through glucosamine supplementation and exercises. Don't know if this will work for him, though, and, as you know, I am NOT a doctor.


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## rmclain (Jun 16, 2006)

I don't know about using Cortisone shots for injuries, but I've always taken a hip shot of Cortisone when I contracted poision ivy/oak or have severe allergy problems.  Really clears things up.

R. McLain


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## Drac (Jun 16, 2006)

pstarr said:
			
		

> Cortisone shots have become a kind of "new cure" for such ailments. They're usually not pleasant - sometimes they work, but only temporarily. They usually just mask the symptoms


 
I have to agree.I use to lift with this Sgt from another department that had a messed up shoulder from a job related injury..He use to get Cortizone shots in his shoulder and afterward he would lift with the intensity on a 21 year old for about a month..It wore off and he'd return to his MD in pain for another shot...


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## matt.m (Jun 16, 2006)

The V.A. wanted to jack me up with cortizone for my knees.  It is not good to do that because like said before it only masks over the syptoms as well as only being a temporary fix.


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## TigerWoman (Jun 16, 2006)

I've had a few, separated by many years, for shoulder problems.  It provides pain relief so that the area heals but is mainly to reduce inflammation. It prevented actually going into a frozen shoulder where you can't use anything with the arm. It is not meant to cure the pain or the problem.  I was told to cool it for a while, like a month or so, so that it can heal and that you don't go right into it and re-injure it.  I've read somewhere that too much cortisone is not good though.

Here is a link to more information:  http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/paindrugs/a/cortisone.htm  TW


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## fireman00 (Jun 16, 2006)

I was spun down on the mat during a sparring session and bruised the miniscus <sp?> on my knee.   I would up having fluid drawn off my knee for three weeks with about a 1/2 liter of fluid being taken out each session.  

The Dr. offered two options; 1.) continue the fluid draining until the bruise healed or 2.) a small injection of Cortizone which would reduce the swelling.  I took option 2 and within 2 days the swelling was down and remained down with no issues in the 6 years since.  

Overusage of steroids can possibly lead to side effects like weakening of tendons so I wouldn't want to take them over a long period or more then one or two of the smallest possible dose.


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## Ceicei (Jun 16, 2006)

Lisa said:
			
		

> My hubby has had chronic neck and shoulder pain for the last 6 or 7 months. He is scheduled for a CT scan in the next few days and then is suppose to get cortisone shots in his neck.
> 
> Just curious if anyone has had to have them and if they were successful or not and exactly how painful are they?



My big toe broke and hurt for a really long time.  Eventually the scar tissue grew to the point where I no longer could feel nor move my toe.  The scar tissue restricted the muslces and bound (constricted) the nerves.

The cortisone shots injected into the toe broke down the scar tissue and loosened up the muscles.  I finally was able to recover both range of motion and feeling.  The shots were painful (temporary pain though), but the results were worth it.  I'm glad to get my toe back to the way it was.  I haven't had problems with my toe ever since.

- Ceicei


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## White Fox (Jun 17, 2006)

Lisa said:
			
		

> My hubby has had chronic neck and shoulder pain for the last 6 or 7 months. He is scheduled for a CT scan in the next few days and then is suppose to get cortisone shots in his neck.
> 
> Just curious if anyone has had to have them and if they were successful or not and exactly how painful are they?


 
Has your hubby tried gentle yoga? My friend had a slipped disk in her back and from doing yoga specifically the cobra pose her problem is gone...


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## TigerWoman (Jun 17, 2006)

Lisa said:
			
		

> My hubby has had chronic neck and shoulder pain for the last 6 or 7 months.  He is scheduled for a CT scan in the next few days and then is suppose to get cortisone shots in his neck.
> 
> Just curious if anyone has had to have them and if they were successful or not and exactly how painful are they?



I missed the reason why he has had chronic pain... maybe if he were to stop doing what is causing it?  I know simplistic but sometimes occupations don't allow you to just stop keyboarding or assembly.  I had to stop reading books in contorted positions and stop breaking cement, least more than one.  But if was to an accident, like in automobile accident and whiplash, then a chiropractor might help also.  TW


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## Lisa (Jun 17, 2006)

White Fox said:
			
		

> Has your hubby tried gentle yoga? My friend had a slipped disk in her back and from doing yoga specifically the cobra pose her problem is gone...



I will certainly pass the idea by him.  At this point and time, he may try just about anything.  Thanks for the suggestion.


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## Lisa (Jun 17, 2006)

TigerWoman said:
			
		

> I missed the reason why he has had chronic pain... maybe if he were to stop doing what is causing it?  I know simplistic but sometimes occupations don't allow you to just stop keyboarding or assembly.  I had to stop reading books in contorted positions and stop breaking cement, least more than one.  But if was to an accident, like in automobile accident and whiplash, then a chiropractor might help also.  TW



The cause of the chronic pain is not really clear.  We are figuring that it is a cummunlative thing over time.  He sits at a desk working at a computer a majority of his day.  He also shoots from a standing position and a prone position with a sling.

In the beginning the shooting prone with a sling was what seemed to aggrevate it.  It caused him to stop shooting .22 prone over the winter and change his focus of long range shooting to F-class which does not require a sling.  It has now progressed so bad that shooting air rifle in the standing position causes his arm to go completely numb after about the first 8-10 shots.  

When the pain first showed up he was going to a chiropractor regularly.  It seemed to work at first but now just seems to make it worse.


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## lhommedieu (Jun 17, 2006)

Sounds like he may have a pinched nerve in his neck if his arms are getting numb..

Small discrete doses of cortisone are fine but in my experience large doses and a lot of injections lead to big problems later on.  Specifically they tend to "glom up" the area affected and make it harder for alternative treatments to work.  This means more cortisone shots and...well you get the idea.

Find a really good massage therapist and someone who does adjustments like a chiropractor or D.O.  Once everything is back to normal yoga is great for maintanance.  Consider also that other areas, such as the upper back and shoulders may be throwing the neck out of alignment.

Best,

Steve Lamade


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