Dr. Joshua John-Ram Schacter warns that steroid injections damage injected tissues (tendons, ligaments, joints), especially with repeated injections, leading to progression of arthritic disease and increased risk of complications for further interventions and surgery. He cites many studies and his clinical experience as an orthopedic surgeon.
The problem with steroid injections overall is one we know very conclusively from many, many studies. Steroid injection damages the tissue that we injected into, and this counts for tendon, this counts for ligament, this counts for joint. So any tissue that we would put a steroid into will be damaged over time, especially if we do multiple steroid injections into the same area. And as an orthopedic surgeon, I've spent years and years doing multiple steroid injections into the same area. And believe me when I tell you that we see patients, patients who have multiple steroid injections do have progression of their arthritic disease. And oftentimes, steroid not only damages the inside of your joint and the tissues surrounding it, but it also creates an environment that increases your risk of complications both from further injections and interventions, and then also from surgery.
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