CORR Insights^®: Corticosteroid Injections Give Small and Transient Pain Relief in Rotator Cuff Tendinosis: A Meta-analysis

Excerpt

I commend the authors of the current study for reviewing a topic that I believe is not often discussed, but should be. The question of whether we should inject patients with cortisone is one that has the impact to change clinical practice. In the world of orthopedics, there are surgeons who inject everyone, only older patients, specific diagnoses, or nobody. Those surgeons who inject everyone have several beliefs including that cortisone is rather harmless, it is effective, and if it does not work, then there is always surgery. Those who avoid it entirely point to the potential risks, and instead lead patients towards less-studied alternatives for the rotator cuff such as platelet-rich plasma or stem cells. Still, others may limit their injections only to those who already have evidence of osteoarthritis, with the belief that the die has already been cast when it comes to the status of the cartilage. …