Doctors often inject cortisone-type medications into painful damaged joints and tendons.
Single injections can relieve pain and swelling and appear to be safe, but recent papers show that repeated injections can damage joints and delay healing. A paper in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery shows that the injecting cortisone-type medications repeatedly into injured tendons and ligaments, delays healing and weakens tissue. In light of these findings, you would think that doctors would stop injecting joints and tendons. However, people can be crippled by arthritis and a single injection into a damaged knee joint can allow an arthritis to walk without pain. The same principle applies to athletes and exercisers, who can develop pain in their tendons, muscles, fascia and ligaments from injuries.