Extreme/prolonged hip pain after hip cortisone injections

Posted by elleelan @elleelan, Jan 3 2:11pm

Hello! I received bilateral greater trochanter corticosteroid injections in August to treat suspected trochanteric bursitis in both hips. I was unable to walk almost immediately after the injections and 2-3 days following. I understand that this could've been a cortisone flare. However, in the 5 months since the injections, my mobility remains severely impacted – my bilateral hip pain is easily 20x worse than before the injections. Imaging done post-injection shows labral tears, burisitis and tendonitis in both hips. My doctor does not know why my pain has gotten worse and is effectively shrugging at my concerns. I am 33/f an otherwise healthy. I completed a course of PT without improvement. Is it possible that the injections caused the labral tears or other soft tissue injury?

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sequoia | @sequoia | Jan 4 8:53am

@elleelan I am so sorry that you are going through this hip pain, when you ‘thought’ you were having something done to alleviate the pain. I would get a second opinion from an hip surgeon and maybe an MRI, to get a closer inside look. I do not know what type of physician you went to but you need a hip specialist now. Pain management physicians mostly give cortisone shots. Sometimes the procedure may have missed its mark and the cortisone actually went where it was not suppose to. I do not know what a labral tear is but imaging should have been done prior to shots. (Update) : I did read about labral tears. Get a second opinion. Sounds like you may be able to get some help of you are able to get a good caring doctor. Good luck and blessings.

rjmtwit | @rjmtwit | Jan 5 7:58am

Yes, another opinion but how about a regenerative medicine specialist? I saw 5 doctors before I found an answer to what was causing my groin pain, not just a shot to get rid of the pain! It wasn't my hip but I had an overstretched ligament that was fixed with prolotherapy … no surgery, no pain medicine!
Hope you find out what is wrong!

sue225 | @sue225 | Jan 5 10:37am

I have arthritis in both hips. And definitely need hip replacement in the right and probably the left as well. In May 2022, I had a steroid injection (image guided) in the left hip. It alleviated the pain for about 3 1/2 months. Late in the fall, I had an injection in my right hip ( the one with severe degeneration) because I'm not ready for surgery. Anyway, it was done by a different radiologist and whether that had something to do with it or not it made my hip much worse. I was initially hoping it was a cortisone flare but no such luck. If I could turn back the clock…