Anyone ever get a cortizone shot in the achilles?

Never had one but nothing hurts when it helps.

sounds like a bad idea. cortizone is not good for connective tissues. could weaken it in both the long and short term.

more importantly, it could mask pain and you could really hurt yourself.

you do not want a ruptured achilles.

You should never get a cortizone shot IN the achilles tendon. What can be beneficial is to put it right next to the tendons sore/swollen areas and that will take away the inflammation as it will diffuse to the affected area if it has not been there for too long (eg under 2-3 months). Can be quite effective if you done by a good doc. Slight increase of rupture risk the first 2 days after that,no increased risk after the initial 2 days/48 hrs. So stay off running completely for the first 2-3 days at least.

Marius

You should never get a cortizone shot IN the achilles tendon. What can be beneficial is to put it right next to the tendons sore/swollen areas and that will take away the inflammation as it will diffuse to the affected area if it has not been there for too long (eg under 2-3 months). Can be quite effective if you done by a good doc. Slight increase of rupture risk the first 2 days,no increased risk after the initial 2 days/48 hrs. So stay off running completely for the first 2-3 days at least.

Marius

my coach had that done to him years ago, and had loads of persistent trouble as a result. As Marius says, it needs to be near it and not in it..

ppbupmp

DO NOT DO IT

I REPEAT

DO NOT GET A CORTISONE SHOT IN YOUR ACHILLES. VERY VERY BAD.

GO GET SURGERY. YOUR ACHILLES TENDON WILL BE LIKE NEW IN 4 MONTHS AFTER THE SURGERY. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A PARTIAL RUPTURE (Like I had) or a COMPLETE RUPTURE, THEN GO GET YOUR CORTISONE SHOT, AND YOU'LL END UP ON THE OPERATING TABLE ANYWAY.

GO TO BUMRUNGRAD HOSPITAL IN BANGKOK, AND GET OPERATED ON BY DR. PANYA WONGPATIMACHAI. US$2000 ALL INCLUDED.

Jason

i agree with everyone else, cortizone shots should only be a last resort. It makes your tendon very brittle and makes it extremely easy to rupture. Surgery would only be a good idea if it is already ruptured otherwise they'll go in and do the procedure creating a bunch more scar tissue than you had before and the pain will remain, not to mention recurring problems. I personally prefer natural cures like ice and rest.

I would say that the last resort is surgery. The problem with surgery if you still enjoy track races at least is that is takes away the elasticity in the tendon for almost/at least a year threreafter (even those most "feel" like it is back after 3-4 months time - this is usually not the case)

The way to go about it (in my mind) is to :

1)Change shoes, ideally videofilm your landing to provide correct shoes and cut the new ones up at the back if they have hard/high back areas (most do)

2)Get massage of the soleus/gastrocnemius muscles, the muscles that are connected to the tendon.

3)Try one cortizone shot near the achilles problem area. Rest 3 days completely. Wait 10-14 days to evaluate effect. Best is the cortizone type "Depot Medrol" on those cases. There is no medical reason not to do so. It is a misunderstanding that it makes the tendon very brittle. And the rupture risk is only increased first 48hrs. Many injections over time at the same spot and hard training right thereafter can probably be hurtful. But is is far worse to get a fibrin esculation there - because the inflammation was not taken way.

4) After 2 weeks, if it has healed, train as normal. If not, go on a 12 week eccentric training program. Very,very effective if done correct. Make sure to increase resistance when one level is tolerated (backpack with books etc)

5) If this is not working and if you are in Europe (not sure if the US has this yet) try scleration therapy for the new blood vessels that may cause the pain (especially if mid-portion achilles pain)

If all of this has not worked, you may consider surgery.

Just my view and thoughts,

Marius

Jason, does the include round trip airfare? I may have the surgery for a cool scare to impress the ladies.

MAYEROFF wrote:

DO NOT DO IT

I REPEAT

DO NOT GET A CORTISONE SHOT IN YOUR ACHILLES. VERY VERY BAD.

GO GET SURGERY. YOUR ACHILLES TENDON WILL BE LIKE NEW IN 4 MONTHS AFTER THE SURGERY. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A PARTIAL RUPTURE (Like I had) or a COMPLETE RUPTURE, THEN GO GET YOUR CORTISONE SHOT, AND YOU'LL END UP ON THE OPERATING TABLE ANYWAY.

GO TO BUMRUNGRAD HOSPITAL IN BANGKOK, AND GET OPERATED ON BY DR. PANYA WONGPATIMACHAI. US$2000 ALL INCLUDED.

Jason

thanks everyone...good advice.

i want to try the shot in the area around the tendon. the hard part is going to be finding a doctor that will just go ahead and do the injection.

it really feels like it's a result of something goign on in my soleus. there is a spot in my soleus that when pressed on sends a shooting/sharp pain directly down the middle of my achilles.

"cortisone"

cortyy wrote:

thanks everyone...good advice.

i want to try the shot in the area around the tendon. the hard part is going to be finding a doctor that will just go ahead and do the injection.

it really feels like it's a result of something goign on in my soleus. there is a spot in my soleus that when pressed on sends a shooting/sharp pain directly down the middle of my achilles.

That is known as "referrred pain" and is an indication that skilled deep-tissue massage could be the ticket. Try that first.