Hi

Wullie

Hi, I've just joined. I have arthritis in my right knee and have come here for advice with living and working with it as it gets worse. I asked my consultant if it was OK to go running and he said yes but after my 1st run I was sore for a couple of weeks so i just go long walks. I can normally go for weeks without painkillers and then I'll need to use them for weeks. The consultant said I can have a cortisone injection if I want so here's my 1st question. Do these injections become less effective the more you get them like other medications can? If so I don't want to get them until I really need to.

Anna

Hi @Wullie ,

While you’re waiting for other members to share their experiences with you, you might be interested in having a look at some of the Versus Arthritis pages that talk about knee arthritis and the treatment for it, including steroid injections. There’s no mention that the injections become less effective the more you have them though.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-knee/

You might also be interested in some gentle exercises for your knee which will help to reduce the pain and keep you mobile:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/exercises-for-healthy-joints/exercises-for-the-knees/

Best wishes,

Anna ( Mod)

frogmorton

Morning @Wullie nice to meet you.

I think it is genuinely possible that cortisone injections have a diminishing effect, but honestly for some they give months or even longer pain relief. While that's happening we could be strengthening our muscles and tendons to support the knee.

My Ex MIL is very lucky she gets at least 6 months maybe a year or more she's had them in almost every joint now from her back to her trigger fingers!

I suppose it might be worth considering your age too; many consultants don't like operating on knees (difficult to do revisions if they wear out later on) until we are older as they have a limited life span. Supposedly about 15 years but you ask @stickywicket she'll tell a different story.

If you are only taking painkillers rarely you may feel you have plenty of time to decide what to do with your knee, but at the end of teh day this is very much an individual decision.

Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

Toni x