Do Steroid Injections Make Knee Osteoarthritis Worse?
Steroid injections, which are often used to treat pain in knee osteoarthritis (KOA), may actually make arthritis worse, according to two new studies comparing steroid injections with hyaluronic acid, another common therapy to treat pain in the condition. The findings were presented on November 29, 2022, at RSNA 2022, the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago.Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common kind of arthritis, and it’s estimated that 38 to 45 percent of people develop KOA over their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 10 percent of patients with knee osteoarthritis seek pain relief through corticosteroid or hyaluronic acid injections.Steroid Injections Significantly Associated With Progression of Knee OAResearchers in both studies used participants from the Osteoarthritis Initiative,…