Steroid Shots Into A Joint Are Bad!

*Intra-articular steroid injections are even worse than we thought!   PS: And it is not just with joint replacements*

There was a large review study published in 2023 concluding that an intra-articular steroid injection within 3 months of a knee replacement raises the risk of infection by 25%!
N=113,000 so, it was a pretty well powered study.
Now, this month, another study published in "Arthroscopy" documents that an intra-articular steroid shot within 2 weeks after a knee arthroscopy raises the infection rate by 2.5x at 90 days!
Other studies have documented that every single intra-articular steroid shot we give raises the likelihood that a patient will get an arthroplasty.
We have many non-steroid alternatives for joint pain and inflammation:
Laser, Shockwave, Platelet rich plasma, bone marrow concentrate, micro-fat, toradol, cryoneurolysis....all come to mind as treatment options without this documented risk of increasing infection rates or potentially accelerating degenerative changes. Other than the cryoneurolysis....none of these are "destructive" and many have documented long term benefits measured in years!

I like Regenerative Medicine options at Texas Orthobiologics!!!
😉