Cortisone Injection: Uses, Recovery and Risks

A cortisone injection delivers anti-inflammatory medicine into a painful joint, tendon area or nearby soft tissue to calm irritation and improve movement.

A clinician first examines the painful region and may use ultrasound or another imaging method to guide the needle. The injection can contain a local anaesthetic as well as corticosteroid medicine. It is intended to reduce inflammation and create a window in which exercise, physiotherapy or normal activity becomes easier; it does not rebuild worn cartilage or repair every structural injury.

The area may feel sore, full or temporarily more painful after the injection. Resting the treated region for the remainder of the day and following the clinician’s activity advice can reduce irritation. Gentle movement is often introduced as comfort allows, while strenuous loading, heavy lifting or repetitive impact may need to wait briefly.

Keep the injection site clean and watch how symptoms change. The local anaesthetic, if used, may wear off before the steroid has had time to work, so an early return of pain does not by itself show that the treatment failed. Your plan may include physiotherapy to address strength, flexibility or movement habits.

Risks vary with the injection site, the medicine used and your health. Possible problems include short-lived pain flare, bruising, skin colour or fat changes, infection, bleeding and a temporary rise in blood glucose. Tendons and nearby nerves can also be irritated or injured, particularly when the needle is placed near them.

Tell the clinician about diabetes, blood-thinning medicine, an active infection, allergies and previous reactions. Seek prompt medical advice for increasing redness, warmth, swelling, drainage, fever, severe pain or new weakness after the injection.

A cortisone injection may ease inflammation and pain for a limited period, but its effect depends on the underlying condition and the body region treated. Relief can make rehabilitation more manageable, yet symptoms may return when the medicine wears off or the original load on the tissue continues.

The clinician should explain what improvement would count as useful and what the next step will be if pain persists. Repeated injections need individual review because frequent steroid exposure may weaken some tissues or affect joint structures.

The injection is usually performed as an outpatient procedure. The target may be a joint, bursa, tendon sheath or space around an irritated nerve. The choice of site and guidance method matters because nearby tendons, vessels and nerves need protection.

A cortisone injection may be considered when pain and inflammation limit sleep, work, walking or rehabilitation despite measures such as activity adjustment, physiotherapy or simple pain relief. It can be used for selected problems including bursitis, some forms of arthritis and tendon-sheath inflammation.

The diagnosis comes first. The clinician may choose another approach when symptoms suggest infection, a major tendon tear, an unstable joint or a condition unlikely to respond to an anti-inflammatory injection. Read more about [Bursitis](/conditions/bursitis/), [Frozen Shoulder](/conditions/frozen-shoulder/) and [Hand Osteoarthritis](/conditions/hand-osteoarthritis/).

The clinician confirms the target, reviews medicines and allergies, and positions the body part. The skin is cleaned, and a needle is passed into the selected area, sometimes with imaging guidance. Medicine is injected slowly, the needle is removed, and a small dressing is applied. Tell the clinician immediately if you feel unusual electric pain, marked dizziness or worsening symptoms.

Plan for a quiet period immediately afterwards and follow the treating clinician’s specific instructions. Mild tenderness can occur first. As comfort improves, a graded return to movement is usually more useful than suddenly resuming full loading. Contact the clinic if pain is escalating rather than settling, or if the site becomes hot, increasingly swollen or begins to drain.

Before treatment, mention pregnancy, diabetes, immune problems, blood-thinning medicine, recent vaccination and any infection. Do not hide a fever or skin infection near the proposed injection site. Afterward, protect the area from avoidable strain and follow advice about glucose monitoring if you have diabetes.

Options may include physiotherapy, strengthening, mobility work, activity modification, splinting, oral or topical medicines, aspiration of selected fluid collections, or surgery when a structural problem requires repair. For context, explore [Ankle Osteoarthritis](/conditions/ankle-osteoarthritis/) or [Biceps Tendinitis](/conditions/biceps-tendinitis/). The right choice depends on the diagnosis, examination and goals.

Look for an orthopaedic clinician, sports-medicine doctor, rheumatologist or pain specialist who regularly treats the relevant body region. Ask which structure is being targeted, whether imaging guidance is appropriate, how activity should change afterward and what plan will follow if relief is brief.