Extreme/prolonged hip pain after hip cortisone injections

I had horrible hip pain that turned out to be pain referring to my hip from my back. I had one cortizone injection to my back and that was the end of it.

I get cortisone injections into my hips about every three too six months. There are a couple of things that I have noticed. 1. They put lidocaine in the hip joint. If you do not stay off of your hips for a couple of days you can fall. I broke my foot in three places and chipped a bone.
2. Cortisone it helps not to walk on your hips for about three days. Do not use a heating pad on your hips. It spreads out the medicine quicker and causes your hip not to last as long.
3. If they don’t inject the right place it doesn’t work. Figure out where your pain is and show your doctor.

This literal exact same thing just barely happened to me, and I’m very worried. I’m 32f, active and healthy—went in to get a shot in my left hip for a bursa and came out unable to walk, sit, lay, or anything 2-3 days after the initial shot.

I’m about 5 days out from the shot now and it isn’t getting better. My doctor said that it could be a “flare” like you say, but I disagree because I’ve had these shots in several other places and it didn’t react the same way. I even got it in my right hip and it was fine.

They did an MRI of the location and it shows that I have bursitis—but it wasn’t this severe until the corticosteroid shot.

What ended up happening for you?

Hello, i had left hip replacement in 2021 due from a truck accident in 2018, since the surgery i have pain in my left groin while sitting or standing even walking to long. I had a MRI and it showed i have tendonitis/Bursitis causing the pain in the iliopsoas muscle i had several cortisone injections with lidocaine if it helped at all it was minimal . the doctor recommended to have the iliopsoas' released" it may or may not help. In 12/2024 i had that procedure done at Mayo in MN. AS of this day i am still going through PT its been 7 months and i still have the pain ,it has lessened i bit but still hurts enough to cause discomfort throughout my day. MY doctor from Mayo informed me it can take up to a full year to get the full benefit from the surgery. I honestly believe i am at that now and will just have to live with it taking meds to help me and use my cane while walking longer distance oh by the way i am i 62 male in average shape. I hope it all goes well for you, as everyone is different when it comes to healing , when i got my last injection they did it under ultra sound and the nerves are very close to the tendon I'm thinking they may have got your nerve in the process, did they use Xray guided or ultra sound when they did your injection? My doctor said ultra sound is better because it shows all the nerves muscles etc.
Thanks Frank

Hello i thought i was alone my hip injections and three surgeries and still have major issues walking and sitting to long in my groin. Its been i rough last few years i have more doctor appointments and still doing PT, we will see how it all falls in a few more months but i think its as good as it will get. I am a 62 year old male and prior to my accident that caused all this i was a avid bicycle rider and golfer.

@ryan000000000bski
I dont mean to say this will happen to you, but I had a cervical nerve ablation & after I had alot of pain in my neck, a burning pain & I had a hard time holding my head up.😒

@vtammyo
I have had hip bursitis several times. Cortisone shots gave a few weeks of relief, but then a couple of years later the bursitis came back. That time I got with my physiatrist who does sonar shockwave treatments. They fixed the bursitis. That same doctor told me after the shockwave sessions finished not to go back to physical therapy, but to walk every day. He recommended short, easy, comfortable walks and cautioned me that missing days due to a flare-up would be a bad outcome. He said steady, regular, and easy over months was the way to heal, and to go at my own pace, adding time and distance as I felt comfortable with it. Bless him, he was right. Also when I began walking I lucked onto a message here in MayoConnect about Esther Gokhale's posture exercises. I tried them and I still do it her way months later because her method reduces the stress on the joints. I walk and cycle several miles a week and have started back on therapy exercises and some leg machines at the gym twice a week. Mr. Bursitis tried to flare up again when I pushed forward too aggressively. I rested, stretched, and iced for several days, then went back to an easier workload and did fine. I am slowly and steadily getting better and have learned to progress a little slower with all of these activities so I don't hurt myself. I wish all of you in this discussion the best of luck chasing bursitis away!

Question: Have you had an MRI of your hip? If not, insist the orthopedic doctor treating you orders an MRI. If he says no, go to a back surgeon and ask for an MRI. You may have a gluteus medius tear. I was treated for bursitis for two painful years and it was a back surgeon on first visit who ordered an MRI because he believed I had a tear. The MRI showed a full-thickness gluteus medius tear w/ fatty infiltration and atrophy! Living w/ this tear is painful and the Trendelenburg gate is tricky w/out the use of a walking cane. I met w/ a surgeon in Chicago who repairs gluteus medius/minimus transfers as well as a surgeon in Virginia and decided that a gluteus medius transfer is way too iffy and w/ a 50/50 chance of recovery after an extended rehabilitation with no assurance of success I chose not to follow thru with this surgical repair. Not until you have seen results/diagnosis from an MRI would I trust a doctor who insists on treating bursitis when treatments to date are not responding to your needs.