Cortisone injections relieve tendon pain quickly but often only for weeks. For tennis elbow, a Lancet review found worse results at 6 to 12 months than no injection. Cortisone into the Achilles is avoided because of rupture risk. It is most useful for frozen shoulder in the painful phase and for bursitis.
Use with care
- Limit repeat injections
- Combine with rehab, never instead of it
- Ask about PRP for tennis elbow and plantar fasciitis
Tendon pain for more than 3 months? Get the free guide and a doctor review of your scan.
Why cortisone can backfire
Cortisone calms inflammation, but long-standing tendon pain is mostly a problem of tendon structure, not inflammation. Cortisone may weaken collagen and mask pain, so people return to full load too soon.
Better long-term options
- Stem cell treatment: aims to help the tendon rebuild
- PRP: better 1-year results than cortisone in tennis elbow trials
- Progressive loading
- Shockwave
When cortisone still makes sense
The painful early phase of frozen shoulder, bursitis, and short-term relief to allow rehab, used sparingly.
