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Corticosteroid Injections: Their Use and Abuse.
Summary
Local corticosteroid injections may impede healing despite reducing inflammation. Orthopaedic treatments should carefully consider potential delays and complications, limiting use to conditions with proven benefits.
Area of Science:
- Orthopaedic surgery
- Sports medicine
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Corticosteroid injections are widely used in orthopaedics to manage pain and inflammation.
- Their potential to delay normal tissue repair is often overlooked.
- Evidence supporting non-rheumatologic applications is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of local corticosteroid injections in orthopaedic practice.
- To highlight the potential adverse effects on tissue healing.
- To provide recommendations for appropriate corticosteroid use in orthopaedics.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on corticosteroid use in orthopaedics.
- Analysis of studies examining the impact of corticosteroids on tissue repair.
- Assessment of complications associated with local corticosteroid injections.
Main Results:
- Corticosteroids may delay the normal healing process.
- Paucity of high-quality studies supports non-rheumatologic use.
- Significant complications can arise from corticosteroid injections.
Conclusions:
- Corticosteroid use should be restricted to conditions with demonstrated benefits.
- Treatment plans must include activity modification, physical therapy, and close monitoring.
- Further research is needed to establish definitive guidelines for corticosteroid injections.