Steroids are commonly used to treat pain. Common examples include cortisone injections into knees, elbows, hips and lumbar spine.
There is increasing concern by many authors about the side-effects of steroid injections.
Hossain demonstrated that steroids were capable of shutting down normal repair and maintenance functions in the joint.(Apoptosis)
Nakazawa demonstrated that steroids can turn off the production of catilage.
Wong identified a correlation between steroid use and bone death. (avascular necrosis of the femoral head)
At the Centeno-Schultz Clinic we too are concerned and have changed our treatment protocols from large dose steroid injections to low dose. Most steroid injections use 6 milligrams of steroid. At Centeno-Schultz Clinic we use a very dilute concentration of steroid which is compounded for our clinic. A nanogram is 1/1000 th of a milligram. Steroid injections at Centeno-Schultz Clinic are between 50 to 100 nanograms. This dilute solution has positive effects on joint health by increasing the concentration of growth factors and stimulating stem cell production of cartilage.
Other options for the treatment of pain include prolotherapy, PRP and stem cell therapy.