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Doctors from Boston University are sounding the alarm over new medical concerns regarding steroid injections.
A study first published in October 2019 in the journal Radiology shows that a number of patients treated with steroid injections into the hips or knees experience complications.
The team that reached these conclusions spoke to the media to share the exact reason for their concerns and what these findings mean for many patients receiving steroid injections.
The best way to treat joint pain?
Steroid injections have long been used by physicians in the West and are perceived as a safe method of managing joint pain.
They are particularly popular among patients with osteoarthritis, a condition characterized by joint pain due to mechanical wear and tear.
However, the definitive treatment for osteoarthritis is not steroid injections but rather joint replacement.
Many patients, however, are not candidates for joint replacement — whether due to medical history such as obesity — leaving them with only non-surgical options like pain-relief medications.
Steroid injections are often administered by doctors in a healthcare office, hospital, or clinic setting.
The steroid used in these injections is a synthetic version of a natural steroid produced by all people. The physician first gives the patient an anesthetic, then injects the steroid into the patient’s intra-articular space (the joint).
The usual injection sites are the knees and hip joints, but depending on the patient’s condition and available treatment options, shoulders and ankles can also be treated.
Driving the new concerns about steroid injections is Dr. Guermazi, a physician from Boston University.
Some time ago he told reporters that he personally gave a steroid injection to a new mother suffering from postpartum joint pain.
Six months later she returned to him with worsening pain and he found that her joint was completely destroyed. The woman needed a rapid replacement, without any apparent cause.
This experience alarmed Dr. Guermazi, and so together with several colleagues from Boston University he initiated a study.
The group wanted to understand the precise risks of steroid injections and how commonly these complications occur.
In Dr. Guermazi’s study, 36 of 459 participating patients experienced medical complications after a steroid injection. When examining the injection sites, 10% of the complications were found in the hips and 4% in the knee.
All of the complications worsened the patient’s joint condition either through small fractures, alteration of the bone’s blood supply, acceleration of arthritis, and in some cases even complete destruction of the joint.
Other complications of steroid injections reported in previous studies included soft tissue infections at the injection site, toxicity from anesthetics given before the procedure, and destruction of joint cartilage.
To determine the full extent of complications facing patients who are given steroid injections, further research is certainly required.
Conclusion
Until this research is completed, patients should openly discuss their concerns with healthcare providers and carefully weigh the pros and cons of steroid injections as a treatment option.
For a safe resolution of joint pain, meeting the criteria for surgical treatment of the condition may be more important than ever before.
