The Dangers of Steroid Shots

If you're getting steroid injections for your joint pain, you need to hear this. There are some pretty significant risks that can be associated with steroid injections, and your doctor may not be telling you the whole story. Number one, steroid injections can really damage your joint. We know that if we give you more than one or two steroid injections every couple of months, it significantly accelerates your arthritis and worsens your cartilage over time. Number two, steroid injections can increase your risk of infection in the joint or can make you sick, affecting your metabolism. Like if you're a diabetic, really make your blood sugar go crazy. I had a patient recently who came in, he's 40 years old and just had a steroid injection and had to be admitted to the hospital to have his diabetes managed. And number three, steroid injections radically increase your risk of needing a joint replacement. And in this country, where 35% of joint replacements are done before you actually need them, that's a disaster. So if you want to prevent that painful, lengthy recovery from joint replacement or prevent those damaging side effects altogether, you need to think about other options. That's why at Pinnacle Integrative Orthopedics, we specialize in regenerative therapies like prp, bone marrow aspirate, stem cell procedures that make your joint healthier rather than damage it, like steroid injections. If you're interested in living better and having healthier, longer lasting joints, please come and see us before you consider those damaging steroid injections.