Anyone have any experience of steroid injections? Do they always work?

[Monroe]

Long story a little bit shorter. I have had constant pain in my hip for over a year. I tried montgs of physio and painkillers which did not help at all.

In December I had an mra which showed a labral tear however because it is quite small the consultant was unsure if it was responsible for the pain. He decided to give me a steroid injection first and said if this worked it would prove the pain was coming from the hip and he would operate to repair the tear.

I had the injection 2 weeks ago and after initially feeling worse it is now back to being as painful as it was before I had it done .

I am now worried he won't operate and I'm back to square one

[Matildathecat]

I've had a whole heap of steroid/ local anaesthetic injections in my spine. The results have been variable from no response at all to partial success in one area.

They are most likely to hit the spot if done under CT guidance.

I have labral tears which were painful but then my back went and oddly my hip hasn't bothered me since. Which makes me wonder if it was my back all along and the labral tears were a red herring.

Hope that makes sense. Good luck.

[Squirrelsmum]

I have had one for a frozen shoulder, I have been pain free for 3 years but I can feel that it is starting to get clunky again. So I guess it has been fairly successful.

[Monroe]

Matilda it does make sense. In fact the consultant said it could be referred pain from elsewhere.

My concern is I have had a number of people tell me the steroid injections can be hit and miss, sometimes working sometimes not.

I had the injection under x ray with a dye injected at the same time to make sure it went in the right place.

So either it hasn't worked but the tear is responsible for the pain but the consultant won't operate because the steroids had no effect.

Or it is referred pain from somewhere else and I will be referred back for physio and painkiller again which didn't work the first time round.

Sorry, just really frustrated

[2kidsintow]

:( Sorry it's not helping, Monroe.

I've not had one yet, but I'm waiting for the appointment letter. I've got a larger ball on my hip joint on one side and they suspect it may be causing pinching and perhaps a small tear. They are offering a steroid injection first, then will ask me whether I want keyhole surgery.

The consultant told me it would take a week or so to start working, so I don't know whether 2 weeks is too early to tell....