Orthopedist recommended cortisone shot but pain is not bad

[RetiredHappy]

I have arthritis in the right hip and it also has a labral tear. It was first diagnosed in 2020 and an orthopedist back then said that he would not recommend fixing the labral tear as the success rate of fixing the pain is not high. He said if the pain was bad he could give me a cortisone shot. Back then I had bouts of pain that would last a month or so and then go away, and it has been this way for the past 5 years.

This February the pain came on, not bad but never quite went away. When I am at rest I don't feel it and when I move, the pain is about a 1. When I climb stairs/slopes or turn a wrong way the pain goes up to a 4 or so, but it is still not bad. The pain goes back to a 1 the moment I am back on flat land. I went to a different / highly recommended orthopedist last week. He looked at my MRI and said that it is the arthritis that is causing the pain. Because I don't have much cartilage left, the labral tear could not be fixed successfully. He wanted to administer a cortisone shot during the same visit, even though I told him that the pain was not bad. He said it was a "nothing". He said it may be several years or 10 years before I will need a hip replacement. He also said it's genetic problem with my hip since I am not overweight and not diabetic. (My sister has similar symptoms in her right hip but I did not mention it.) His staff came back and said that they forgot that with my insurance, a pre-authorization is required.

In the meantime, I got notified by my mail order pharmacy that a prescription has been mailed to my home - Meloxicam. I wasn't told about it, but I figure my insurance company wanted the doctor to try prescription medication before approving the cortisone shot.

Anyway, I feel that I do not need the medication and nor the shot. I have a history of stomach issues/ulcers and certainly not going to take this medication that is more risky than Ibuprofen. Does anyone here have similar hip pain issue and what did you do about it?

One more note, I still golf 4 to 5 days a week and have no issues.

 

[FIREd_2015]

I've had hip pain off and on the past year. X-ray and MRI shows Hip osteoarthritis, moderate to severe. Hip stretches and glute bridge exercises helps but seems to be less effective as time goes on. I'm considering a PrP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) injection. I've talked to 2 people that got it and they said it helped them. It's not covered by insurance and costs about $1000 in my area.

 

[Koolau]

I have arthritis in the right hip and it also has a labral tear. It was first diagnosed in 2020 and an orthopedist back then said that he would not recommend fixing the labral tear as the success rate of fixing the pain is not high. He said if the pain was bad he could give me a cortisone shot. Back then I had bouts of pain that would last a month or so and then go away, and it has been this way for the past 5 years.

This February the pain came on, not bad but never quite went away. When I am at rest I don't feel it and when I move, the pain is about a 1. When I climb stairs/slopes or turn a wrong way the pain goes up to a 4 or so, but it is still not bad. The pain goes back to a 1 the moment I am back on flat land. I went to a different / highly recommended orthopedist last week. He looked at my MRI and said that it is the arthritis that is causing the pain. Because I don't have much cartilage left, the labral tear could not be fixed successfully. He wanted to administer a cortisone shot during the same visit, even though I told him that the pain was not bad. He said it was a "nothing". He said it may be several years or 10 years before I will need a hip replacement. He also said it's genetic problem with my hip since I am not overweight and not diabetic. (My sister has similar symptoms in her right hip but I did not mention it.) His staff came back and said that they forgot that with my insurance, a pre-authorization is required.

In the meantime, I got notified by my mail order pharmacy that a prescription has been mailed to my home - Meloxicam. I wasn't told about it, but I figure my insurance company wanted the doctor to try prescription medication before approving the cortisone shot.

Anyway, I feel that I do not need the medication and also not the shot. I have a history of stomach issues/ulcers and certainly not going to take this medication that is more risky than Ibuprofen. Does anyone here have similar hip pain issue and what did you do about it?

One more note, I still golf 4 to 5 days a week and have no issues.

Not to be too "flip" but I almost wish I had your problem. My back issues (arthritis which can't be fixed) have been as bad as near debilitating from time to. But steroid shots have helped a lot.

By the way, I took Meloxicam at one time and tolerated it well. There may be better, newer NSAIDs now. I can no longer take NSAIDs due to other issues.

It seems your issues don't affect your quality of life a lot. I think I'd give the doctor's advice a try.

 

[Cayman]

As with many treatment options, cortisone injections carry risks and have drawbacks as well as benefits. Check out Mayo Clinic's website. I have knee OA and won't get a cortisone shot until I have debilitating pain (not there yet either). For future reference should you need an injection, will it be ultrasound guided? If not, you may want to check into pros and cons. My University Ortho doc (dept. chair) told me that he will not inject a hip unless he's guided by ultrasound. Glad you're getting around ok, good luck.

 

[timbervest]

Got a cortisone shot in the knee last week for arthritis and continued achy pain following knee surgery for torn meniscus three months ago. Its been a week and I don't feel any difference. Disappointing.

 

[Aerides]

You are lucky your pain is low and you can determine that you don't need treatment for it. If you don't have pain at night, that's key. Night pain, even a 1, can keep you awake.

When my (partially torn) rotator cuff had about a 2-3 by day, that made nights miserable, and shots were awesome. Some people don't respond to them, I do. I think I'm cured!

Yes, there are risks, but they aren't super frequent. As long as you aren't doing them back to back to back, you should be fine with them every now and then to delay/avoid surgery.

 

[Aerides]

Got a cortisone shot in the knee last week for arthritis and continued achy pain following knee surgery for torn meniscus three months ago. Its been a week and I don't feel any difference. Disappointing.

My first knee shot took about 2-3 weeks to kick in. But for some people they just don't work at all.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Got a cortisone shot in the knee last week for arthritis and continued achy pain following knee surgery for torn meniscus three months ago. Its been a week and I don't feel any difference. Disappointing.

I "ass-u-me" that it will be ultrasound guided. I had one done on each elbow and one on my left knee and they were ultrasound guided.

 

[Rhythm Method]

I've had hip pain off and on the past year. X-ray and MRI shows Hip osteoarthritis, moderate to severe. Hip stretches and glute bridge exercises helps but seems to be less effective as time goes on. I'm considering a PrP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) injection. I've talked to 2 people that got it and they said it helped them. It's not covered by insurance and costs about $1000 in my area.

I have had good results with Prolotherapy which is similar. It is important to find a skilled practitioner. Look up Caring Medical for more info. PM me if you would like more info. Good luck.

 

[surprising]

I had cortisol shot in shoulder to help with frozen shoulder pain, and also in elbow for tennis elbow. Both were ultrasound guided. The shoulder one helped minimally, which was disappointing, but the elbow one completely eliminated the pain.. However, it's been about 3 months now and the elbow pain has started to come back. Ortho said it would most likely be a temporary fix.

 

[aja8888]

My hip pain resulted in a total hip replacement using the Anterior procedure. I was 65 at the time. My golf game is a good as it was back then and now I am almost 82. I had the second hip replaced at age 74. Best thing I ever did for my staying active.

 

[ksr]

I was diagnosed with significant arthritis in my left hip earlier this year. The orthopedic doc I saw mentioned that cortisone shots were an option, but warned me against getting them too frequently. He said there is some science that suggests they may actually cause the joint to break down further (not sure I am using exactly the right terminology here, but that was the general idea). So it might be worth doing some reading and research before going that route.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I've had hip pain off and on the past year. X-ray and MRI shows Hip osteoarthritis, moderate to severe. Hip stretches and glute bridge exercises helps but seems to be less effective as time goes on. I'm considering a PrP (Platelet-Rich Plasma) injection. I've talked to 2 people that got it and they said it helped them. It's not covered by insurance and costs about $1000 in my area.

A friend of mine has paid for these shots in her knee which helped her immensely.

 

[Richard4444]

I had a similar diagnosis: labral tear and progressive osteoarthritis of the hip. In order to avoid surgery, I had 26 sessions of physical therapy and injections of Durolane (brand of hyaluronic acid). The pain continued to increase and I even felt it pretty bad below both knees (turns out that was from a 'changed' gait due to hip arthritis compensation). So I had the hip replacement and glad I did. Hip pain gone almost immediately. Four months later, had the other hip replaced. Zero knee pain and still just some minor post op muscle soreness (not pain) from 2nd replacement in December.

Rich

 

[ShadowBloom]

I have a hip impingement and probable labral tear. Most times the pain is a 1-2; I've done a couple of rounds of physical therapy when it got worse and that's put it back to a level I can live with. Each round of PT has been about 3 months' worth and the benefits have lasted a couple of years. The pain's never gone away completely, though. I've never been offered any pain medicine for it. Once when the pain was more intense my doctor said to try PT for just a couple of weeks and if it didn't seem it was helping he'd do the injection, but thankfully I saw improvement so the shot wasn't necessary. The doctor I see is a physiatrist (physical medicine/pain management specialist), not an orthopedist.

 

[NXR7]

My wife got a cortisone shot in her knee and it lasted three days so she wanted to proceed with the replacement surgery. That's when she was told that getting a cortisone shot automatically delays any surgery for 90 days. I don't know if that is knee-specific but folks may want to find out if they are considering surgery.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I got a call back yesterday from the doctor's office indicating that insurance had approved the injection. I told them that I would hold it off because my pain is mostly gone/manageable. I haven't done anything differently but this last flare-up lasted months as opposed to in the past that that it would resolve itself after 2 to 4 weeks. My belief is to hold off on the shot until the pain is causing disruptions with my activities.

 

[EOKO]

I have arthritis in the right hip and it also has a labral tear. It was first diagnosed in 2020 and an orthopedist back then said that he would not recommend fixing the labral tear as the success rate of fixing the pain is not high. He said if the pain was bad he could give me a cortisone shot. Back then I had bouts of pain that would last a month or so and then go away, and it has been this way for the past 5 years.

This February the pain came on, not bad but never quite went away. When I am at rest I don't feel it and when I move, the pain is about a 1. When I climb stairs/slopes or turn a wrong way the pain goes up to a 4 or so, but it is still not bad. The pain goes back to a 1 the moment I am back on flat land. I went to a different / highly recommended orthopedist last week. He looked at my MRI and said that it is the arthritis that is causing the pain. Because I don't have much cartilage left, the labral tear could not be fixed successfully. He wanted to administer a cortisone shot during the same visit, even though I told him that the pain was not bad. He said it was a "nothing". He said it may be several years or 10 years before I will need a hip replacement. He also said it's genetic problem with my hip since I am not overweight and not diabetic. (My sister has similar symptoms in her right hip but I did not mention it.) His staff came back and said that they forgot that with my insurance, a pre-authorization is required.

In the meantime, I got notified by my mail order pharmacy that a prescription has been mailed to my home - Meloxicam. I wasn't told about it, but I figure my insurance company wanted the doctor to try prescription medication before approving the cortisone shot.

Anyway, I feel that I do not need the medication and nor the shot. I have a history of stomach issues/ulcers and certainly not going to take this medication that is more risky than Ibuprofen. Does anyone here have similar hip pain issue and what did you do about it?

One more note, I still golf 4 to 5 days a week and have no issues.

it seems like you wasted everybody’s time, including your own. You could’ve easily received the same care from your GP than from this “highly recommended” ortho. I’m not sure why you’d want to see a specialist if your discomfort is minimal and resolves spontaneously.

I have arthritis in the right hip and it also has a labral tear. It was first diagnosed in 2020 and an orthopedist back then said that he would not recommend fixing the labral tear as the success rate of fixing the pain is not high. He said if the pain was bad he could give me a cortisone shot. Back then I had bouts of pain that would last a month or so and then go away, and it has been this way for the past 5 years.

This February the pain came on, not bad but never quite went away. When I am at rest I don't feel it and when I move, the pain is about a 1. When I climb stairs/slopes or turn a wrong way the pain goes up to a 4 or so, but it is still not bad. The pain goes back to a 1 the moment I am back on flat land. I went to a different / highly recommended orthopedist last week. He looked at my MRI and said that it is the arthritis that is causing the pain. Because I don't have much cartilage left, the labral tear could not be fixed successfully. He wanted to administer a cortisone shot during the same visit, even though I told him that the pain was not bad. He said it was a "nothing". He said it may be several years or 10 years before I will need a hip replacement. He also said it's genetic problem with my hip since I am not overweight and not diabetic. (My sister has similar symptoms in her right hip but I did not mention it.) His staff came back and said that they forgot that with my insurance, a pre-authorization is required.

In the meantime, I got notified by my mail order pharmacy that a prescription has been mailed to my home - Meloxicam. I wasn't told about it, but I figure my insurance company wanted the doctor to try prescription medication before approving the cortisone shot.

Anyway, I feel that I do not need the medication and nor the shot. I have a history of stomach issues/ulcers and certainly not going to take this medication that is more risky than Ibuprofen. Does anyone here have similar hip pain issue and what did you do about it?

One more note, I still golf 4 to 5 days a week and have no issues.

Really it seems like you wasted everybody’s time, including your own. You could’ve easily received the same care from your GP than from this “highly recommended” ortho. I’m not sure why you’d want to see a specialist if your discomfort is minimal and resolves spontaneously. Instead you took up a highly prized new patient eval and didn’t even want to follow their advice.

 

[RetiredHappy]

@EOKO My PCP referred me to this "highly recommended" ortho. I had discomfort that was not minimal and wasn't sure if it was the same problem that I had experienced before. The ortho indicated that it's from the same problem that I have had for the past 5 years. Now it has subsided to how I normally feel. If you have read my post carefully, this pain lasted months.

 

[Mulligan]

@EOKO My PCP referred me to this "highly recommended" ortho. I had discomfort that was not minimal and wasn't sure if it was the same problem that I had experienced before. The ortho indicated that it's from the same problem that I have had for the past 5 years. Now it has subsided to how I normally feel. If you have read my post carefully, this pain lasted months.

Interesting. Last year I started getting a hitch in my giddy up on my left hip. I wanted to know what my next steps were so I went to my PCP expecting to get sent to a specialist. But she took the XRAY immediately and then told me I have arthritis in my left hip. She then gave me Naxopren (basically double strength Aleve) for 2 weeks to “calm it down”. Then just take Aleve as needed.
She said next step down the road would be giving me “the shot”. So I guess I am still some time away from visiting a specialist. The Aleve has really done the trick for me for now. I am at the point where I dont need it daily and really dont want to.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Interesting. Last year I started getting a hitch in my giddy up on my left hip. I wanted to know what my next steps were so I went to my PCP expecting to get sent to a specialist. But she took the XRAY immediately and then told me I have arthritis in my left hip. She then gave me Naxopren (basically double strength Aleve) for 2 weeks to “calm it down”. Then just take Aleve as needed.
She said next step down the road would be giving me “the shot”. So I guess I am still some time away from visiting a specialist. The Aleve has really done the trick for me for now. I am at the point where I dont need it daily and really dont want to.

Most PCPs here refer patients out to specialists after their initial diagnosis, and definitely do not give shots for arthritis. They are all done by ortho here. I have had 3 shots, 1 in each elbow and one in my left knee. For my hip, my PCP had advised to take painkillers instead of having the shot as long as the pain is manageable.

 

[Mulligan]

Most PCPs here refer patients out to specialists after their initial diagnosis, and definitely do not give shots for arthritis. They are all done by ortho here. I have had 3 shots, 1 in each elbow and one in my left knee. For my hip, my PCP had advised to take painkillers instead of having the shot as long as the pain is manageable.

If mine ever progresses to the point I get the shot, I hope it does more than the one cortisone shot I had for plantar fasciitis. Taping an aspirin to my foot would have helped as much as that shot did.

 

[ApeX]

I have arthritis in the right hip and it also has a labral tear. It was first diagnosed in 2020 and an orthopedist back then said that he would not recommend fixing the labral tear as the success rate of fixing the pain is not high. He said if the pain was bad he could give me a cortisone shot. Back then I had bouts of pain that would last a month or so and then go away, and it has been this way for the past 5 years.

This February the pain came on, not bad but never quite went away. When I am at rest I don't feel it and when I move, the pain is about a 1. When I climb stairs/slopes or turn a wrong way the pain goes up to a 4 or so, but it is still not bad. The pain goes back to a 1 the moment I am back on flat land. I went to a different / highly recommended orthopedist last week. He looked at my MRI and said that it is the arthritis that is causing the pain. Because I don't have much cartilage left, the labral tear could not be fixed successfully. He wanted to administer a cortisone shot during the same visit, even though I told him that the pain was not bad. He said it was a "nothing". He said it may be several years or 10 years before I will need a hip replacement. He also said it's genetic problem with my hip since I am not overweight and not diabetic. (My sister has similar symptoms in her right hip but I did not mention it.) His staff came back and said that they forgot that with my insurance, a pre-authorization is required.

In the meantime, I got notified by my mail order pharmacy that a prescription has been mailed to my home - Meloxicam. I wasn't told about it, but I figure my insurance company wanted the doctor to try prescription medication before approving the cortisone shot.

Anyway, I feel that I do not need the medication and nor the shot. I have a history of stomach issues/ulcers and certainly not going to take this medication that is more risky than Ibuprofen. Does anyone here have similar hip pain issue and what did you do about it?

One more note, I still golf 4 to 5 days a week and have no issues.

Sounds like you’re in a relatively good spot. You’ll know when it’s time to seriously consider injection, or even THA.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Sounds like you’re in a relatively good spot. You’ll know when it’s time to seriously consider injection, or even THA.

For about 3 months I was in pain every time when I got out of bed at night and I had to push my butt off the bed without using my leg. Now I am back to normal.

 

[Jheroine]

Got a cortisone shot in the knee last week for arthritis and continued achy pain following knee surgery for torn meniscus three months ago. Its been a week and I don't feel any difference. Disappointing.

I was so debilitated from a left knee meniscus tear, ligament tear, OA with virtually no cartilage left last year, I could barely walk and had to use a cane. Got a cortisone shot that worked for the first 2 weeks, then the pain came back. I did PT but found what really helped was a simple leg swing move I learned from a PT on YouTube that helped eliminate the tightness and pain for the past 10 months. Occasionally I would still get tight and a little sore but I still do my PT stretches and the leg swings EVERY DAY so I haven't had to go back to the ortho so far as he said ultimately if nothing else works, I'd need a knee replacement.