I've known so many people who have said the same thing and sometimes wonder if I should try to get a shot for my hands and back. But at the same time I'm told that cortisone shouldn't be taken over a long period of time. I don't know.

The shots work for some people but not for others. I think it will depend on what is causing the pain. Have friends that it has helped tremendously but others tried it and could not tell any difference. Taking cortisone should be used carefully as it can do damage to the bones.

Be wary of getting the shots too often: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/10/steroid-injections-joint-pain/600193/

I developed tennis elbow, which is a form of tendinitis, and a cortisone shot was immediate relief. Only needed the one.

Believe it or not, I developed the TE as a result of tossing a dog toy.....I don't play tennis :-)

Cortisone does awful things to the body, muscle wasting, adrenal damage, etc. I hope that you find a physician that will treat the source of the issue and not just do a "bandaid" fix.

I once had cortisone shots for pain in my foot. Yes, very quick relief. As I recall, it was 2 shots and each one lasted close to 6 months. Pretty sure I also had a cortisone shot once for poison oak.

bookwoman, in the second paragraph of the aritcle you linked, the doctor involved said:

"We didn’t know what happened, and still can’t know for certain"

" I hope that you find a physician that will treat the source of the issue and not just do a "bandaid" fix."

My understanding is limited but I think cortisone is an anti-inflammatory and as such reduces inflammation that causes pain and loss of function or movement. Put another way, it is often the best way to treat the source of problems.

I've had tendinitis several times in different places, once quite severely in one foot that made me nearly unable to walk. One dose of cortisone that time and other times resolved the problems.

Edit for clarity-

By 'One dose", I meant one injection.

I hope the pain relief is long lasting for you and you don't require another shot anytime soon.

I had to quit bowling about 20 years ago due to tendonitis in my elbow and haven't had a problem with it since. I can't recall the last time I had a Cortisone injection but I had a steroid injection for my RA last year. It worked great for about a month and then wore off. I had a rough couple weeks before the the RA medicine I was taking built up in my system.

LoneJack, cortisone is a steroid. That class of drugs is properly called corticosteroids. This is a good explanation from the Mayo Clinic on the risks and benefits of these drugs: https://www.mayoclinic.org/steroids/art-20045692

I thought they were in the same class but cortisone is typically injected into a joint right? The steroid injection for RA went into my tuckus.

I'm not a doctor, so I don't know. Perhaps your injection was prednisone? And I believe it's spelled tuchus. ;-)

Not to be too pedantic, bookwoman, but I think the word for butt you've suggested a spelling correction for is from a different language. As such, the spelling would be a phonetic transliteration - the letters represent the sound and not the spelling of the word. Given the irregularity of English spelling, many ways to get close to any given sound. Okay?

Elmer, yes, I know, hence the winky face. In Yiddish, where the word comes from, the middle consonants are pronounced in a softer way than the hard 'k' suggested by LoneJack's spelling. However it's pronounced, it's a great word.

P.S. As long as we're being pedantic, Merriam-Webster spells it with the 'ch': https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tuchus

Also spelled tuchis, tokus, toches, tochas and tookis :-) Also tush or tushie.

Glad you got some relief. I've had a bad ankle since 2015 when I sprained it hiking. It got better after I got a desk job and I started hiking and walking again. This past summer it began to hurt again so I quit walking on my breaks at work. Walking around Japan on our trip was misery. Wish I had brought my ankle brace with me, it would've helped some. I have been waiting over a month to see an ankle specialist. Friday after next. I hope he can help me. I want to keep traveling and hiking/walking but not in pain.

Has anyone tried turmeric for joint health support?