For patients with hip osteoarthritis (OA), pain management and maintaining function are primary therapy goals. Current guidelines offer recommendations on nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic approaches to addressing these issues in hip OA. For patients in whom pharmacologic management is considered, the use of intra-articular steroid injections is one option. In its 2012 guidelines (the most current…
Effectiveness of Steroid Injections vs. Placebo Evaluated for Knee Pain
A two-year study among patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) showed that steroid injections for knee pain were no more effective than saline injections and actually reduced cartilage volume more than placebo. The study, conducted at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, looked at progression of cartilage loss and change in knee pain after treatment with placebo…
Steroid Injections for Lateral Epicondylalgia Worse than Placebo in Long Term
In a recent study of unilateral lateral epicondylalgia, corticosteroid injection resulted in worse clinical outcomes compared to placebo injection, and there were no significant differences in those who received physical therapy or no physical therapy.