A new study reveals that a common treatment for some inflammation pain joints It may lead to an exacerbation of the condition and an increase in pain, as the researchers indicated that corticosteroids used to treat arthritis pain may lead to an exacerbation of the condition over time, according to the American “CNN” website.
“Knee osteoarthritis is one of the most chronic, degenerative and progressive conditions, with an estimated 800,000 patients diagnosed each year in the United States alone,” said the lead author of the study, Dr. Upasana Bharadwaj.
Osteoarthritis is a common form of arthritis in which the cartilage inside a joint breaks down over time and the bone around it changes, getting worse over time, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Bharadwaj, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of radiology at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, added that at least 10 percent of the patients in the study used injections for pain management. Two of these injections for pain management are corticosteroids, which is the more common of the two, and hyaluronic acid. .
The studies, presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, used either radiographs or MRIs to track the progression of osteoarthritis in patients’ knees.
According to the studies, some of these patients did not receive any treatment and others were given corticosteroid or hyaluronic acid injections.
Both studies showed a statistically significant increase in the progression of degenerative changes in the knee cartilage over two years in people who were injected with corticosteroids compared to those who had or did not have hyaluronic acid injected, according to the study authors.
The studies highlight a debate in the osteoarthritis scientific community about the role of changes in joint structure.
Corticosteroids should be given with caution for osteoarthritis pain
Corticosteroids are a quick way to relieve pain and control inflammation but may not be a good option for long-term treatment. But repeated injections can put patients at risk of other problems, such as infections, because corticosteroids suppress your immune system.