Bumping this old topic as seems to be the most comprehensive one dealing with Cortisone / steroid shots.

Would appreciate any updated thoughts on the subject as my surgeon is suggesting shots could be a "good" option yet the feedback I have read so far is less encouraging. Guess the 4 potential outcomes are;

• it gives relief for a while so does a job
• it makes zero difference
• it makes things worse to the extent that you go from holding off on surgery to having to get on with BHR
• it makes things worse and necrosis takes BHR off the table

Thoughts?

Interesting HippyD - My personal experience is a choice between 1 & 3 - My Cortisone/Steroids shot in August/12 made me feel great for about 5 weeks. I went to the gym and no pain whatsoever during ellipticals, walking or weight routines
September the pain in the right hip came back. In November/December it was substantially worse making me think the reflections of previous posters is more correct towards your answer #3
I am now booked for BHR right side in late March/13 after reading here about why I should not postpone any further, and get on with it.

The opinion that I heard from a few of the top surgeons involved with arthroscopy and other types of hip repair not involving replacement, is that cortisone may make it feel better of a short time, but it will severely damage the joint, likely shortening the time to a replacement. Some said that though they could not explain why, it did seem to them that the negative effect of cortisone was substantially worse on hips than on other joints.

I had a cortisone injection into my severly arthritic left hip using floroscopy to be sure it was injected correctly. My surgeon said it was normal procedure as a last resort to relieve pain in the hip. It really seemed to help for a few weeks with the pain and some of the stiffness. But, in hindsight, temporarily restoring some range of motion and temporary relief of the socket pain just allowed me to grind it up even more without knowing it. Once it wore off in a few weeks I was worse off and my xrays showed it.

I had cortisone injections in my hips for two years before my surgeries.  I've also had them in my back.  For me they worked at removing inflammation and therefore removing pain.  My first injection in my right hip got me about nine months, the next six, next time was in both sides and didn't even get me a week.  Then I knew it Wes time for surgery

I had 3 cortisone injections and 1 shot of Euflexxa at $1k out of pocket.  Each gave minimal relief and for a shorter duration each time I had them.  Kind of a false hope if you ask me.  I suppose the docs have to follow the standard protocol with degenerative arthritis so everyone gets a slice of the pie along the way.  No one really wants to have a major surgery like the BHR or THR, so as a patient any glimmer of hope thrown at you is grabbed before the inevitable.

I think most of us say after the fact that if we knew the outcome would be what we now have, a rebirth of activity without pain, we would have opted for the surgery sooner.

With that being said, I am sure some whose OA is not too far advanced enjoy an extended period of pain relief from various injections.  So I think the answer is yes to all 4 of your potential outcomes.

Relating to Davids last post, a few months ago I had an injection in my other not-yet-operated hip of Durolane, which is very similar to the Euflexxa that David mentioned. It was pretty sore for the first couple of weeks, but so far I have had a good three months of 70% relief, and would do it again at this point. I do not believe that this type of injection runs the same long term risks as cortisone.

Yes John, Durolane and Euflexxa are similiar hyaluronic acid based injections.
Yes totally different methods of action than cortisone.
Glad it is helping you on your other hip.
I'd continue to put it off as well getting 70% relief for 3 months.
Is that covered by insurance for a hip injection?

Got two shots spaced about two and four months before I did Kona.  The local anesthetic was more help than the shots.  A rebuilt hip was my answer.

Jon

I had very short term relief from bilateral injections, but that short term relief was pretty welcome.  The inflamation and spasms created by it were so bad that I was ready to try anything.  At the time, THR was recommended and I was just starting to research resurfacing.  I was very happy and amazed for about 3 weeks and then gimped up again. 

I am one of those would had great luck with injections - both steroid and viscosupplementation (Eufflexa, Synvisc, etc). I am young (37) and now have 2 HRs but I really had to try and stretch my hips as long as they would go because I just could not justify going into this surgery at such a young age without trying a lot of other things. I have had as much as 8 months relief from one injection - when I had both the Synvisc One and cortisone I got even longer relief. I almost was not sure whether to have surgery last year because I was still having relief from the injections and wasn't in much pain when I actually had the surgery (but I had been in plenty of pain previously and wasn't very eager for that to come back).

I do think cortisone can degrade a joint but honestly I think it takes repeated injections in excess of 2-3 per year for a few years to do that. I had 3 or 4 over a span of like 3 years and I was fine. Others may have had a different experience.

Amy

I had two shots.  The first shot was great, and allowed me to complete a half marathon 2 months later.  I got a second shot 6 months after the first one and it did nothing. 

There is concern for permanent damage if you get a lot of these shots, but doctors assured me that 2 cortisone shots would not be a problem.

Thanks guys and all feedback much appreciated as we are capturing a real cross-section of responses here which should hopefully become a good thread to benefit knowledge of others in the future. Still not sure what I am going to do but continuing to take lots of supplements such as Hyaluronic acid, Glucosamine, Chondroitin to take any help I can get

If you are bone on bone It probably will give you little relief.  It lasted 2 months for me.
Ross