Summit interventional spine specialist Sierra McLean, MD, explains what steroid injections are and how they work to relieve pain originating from the spine or another joint in the body.
What Are Steroid Injections?
Steroids (also called corticosteroids) are powerful anti-inflammatory medicines. Whereas taking a steroid in pill form can affect areas across your body, a steroid injection delivers the medicine directly to the joint that is inflamed. Your doctor uses X-ray or ultrasound imaging during the injection to make sure the steroid dose is delivered exactly where you need it.
Note: corticosteroids used to reduce inflammation are different from steroids used to build muscle (called anabolic steroids.)
“Steroid injections can be a game changer for people dealing with persistent back pain,” Dr. McLean said. “By targeting inflammation at its source, injections can reduce pain, restore movement, and make everyday activities more manageable.”
How Do Steroid Injections Work for Pain Relief?
Inflammation is part of the way your body heals itself from injury or infection. Your body’s immune system sends fluids to the damaged area of your body to start the healing process — unfortunately, the body’s inflammatory reaction also causes redness, swelling, and stiffness in the area. Steroid injections work to calm down this inflammatory reaction, thus relieving pain and stiffness.
How Long Do Steroid Injections Take to Work?
It takes time for the steroid injection to work, so you shouldn’t expect relief right away. Some patients begin to feel relief after a couple of days, but you should expect symptom relief to take about a week, with full effect sometimes taking 2 to 3 weeks.
How Long Do Steroid Injections Last?
It depends on your specific diagnosis and symptoms, but in general, pain relief can last up to a few months. In some cases, that’s enough time for your body to recover from the injury that was causing the inflammation, and you won’t need another injection. If your pain and inflammation is caused by arthritis or another long-term condition, you can repeat the steroid injection if it was effective for you.
Talk to your doctor about what to expect in your specific situation.
What Happens If the Steroid Injection Doesn’t Work?
While steroid injections generally work very well, they don’t work in every case or for every person. Doctors also sometimes use steroid injections to help diagnose the root cause of a person’s pain symptoms. In those cases, a lack of pain relief can provide important information about what’s really causing your pain.
Talk with your doctor about what you should expect from a steroid injection for pain relief. If the injection doesn’t work for you, follow up with your doctor to figure out the next steps together.
“For the right patient, steroid injections can play a central role in pain management,” Dr. McLean added. “The goal isn’t simply to treat pain with an injection. My goal is to use the right tool at the right time to help you move better, feel better, and get back to your life.”
