7 Everyday Habits That Can Make Knee Pain Worse After a Cortisone Injection

A cortisone injection offers rapid pain relief by lowering inflammation but it does not fix your knee’s structural damage. From heavy lifting to involvement in high-impact exercises, a single mistake can worsen your knee pain.

Key Takeaways

• A cortisone injection lowers pain, swelling and inflammation in the knee joint.
• The injected area must be kept at rest for the initial 24 to 48 hours.
• Avoid lifting heavy objects in the first 48 hours.

Cortisone injections minimize severe pain, swelling, and pain in the knee joint that is caused due to arthritis, bursitis, or tendinitis. What you can experience is significant pain relief but it is temporary. Ignoring the post-injection considerations and returning to normal activities soon can bring back the pain.

This article points out some daily habits that can worsen your knee pain after cortisone injection.

Why Can Your Knee Pain Increase After a Cortisone Injection?

A cortisone injection in the knee is set to lower your knee pain. Are you feeling that it has become worse? If yes, here are the top seven reasons.

1. Skipping the Rest Period

A 24 to 48 hours rest of the knee joint is mandatory after a cortisone joint. Often, patients avoid this and that brings back the pain while making it more unbearable.

After the cortisone shot, you need to stay off your feet whenever you can. Even the doctors also suggest this. If you take it lightly, your pain will be back without any warning.

2. Performing Strenuous Exercises

You need to avoid high-impact exercises for 24 to 48 hours after a cortisone shot. This can be longer, depending on the joint and your clinician’s advice. You need to avoid running, jumping, lifting heavy weights, etc. during this time. Any intense workout puts stress on the treated knee joint.

You might experience immediate pain relief, but the surrounding tissues remain sensitive. Hence, you must not perform strenuous activities. If you are a regular gym goer, seek permission from your doctor before you can continue this habit again. In the cases that the pain continues, you might want to consider Ketamine injections for chronic pain.

3. Overuse of the Infected Area

If you receive a cortisone injection in the knee, you need to ensure that repetitive movements or overuse of the treated joint must be avoided for several days. Regular tasks whether during work or household chores can counteract with the anti-inflammatory effects of cortisone shots. This increases your pain.

Doctors advise resting the joint and gradually returning to normal activities so that the tissue can respond effectively. In some cases, you may need supports like splints or braces. If you do not take care of this, you can experience severe pain.

4. Improper Lifting

Lifting any object is a common household activity we perform on a daily basis. Improper lifting after a knee cortisone injection can worsen your pain. No matter how heavy an item is, lifting it incorrectly can double the pain.

Often, individuals prefer engaging in deep squatting on the very day of receiving the injection. This is not recommended because a significant pressure is exerted on the knee and bearing the pain becomes a challenge for you.

5. Excessive Walking or Standing

Your feet must be at rest for most of the time in the first 48 hours of receiving the cortisone injection in the knee. A common mistake that many people make is walking for a long time after coming back from home. This must not be done as it puts strain on the injected knee.

Not only walking but standing on your feet for a long time can also contribute to heavy pain. In some cases, you might feel a certain level of discomfort while standing. Even if you don’t feel it, avoid this activity. It’s better to take breaks from walking so that your injected knee gets the needed rest.

6. Using Heat Pads Immediately

A common post-injection tip is to apply ice on the cortisone-injected knee for the first 48 hours. One of the common mistakes that many people make is using hot pads instead of any cold application. This increases your pain.

Why is overuse of heat dangerous? Well, the application of hot packs in the stated timeframe increases swelling and inflammation. Also, heat pads bring more blood to the area. You need to listen to your doctor’s advice on this.

7. Wearing Unsupportive Footwear

Wearing incorrect footwear is the key cause of most of your leg pains. You need to focus on the right footwear after receiving cortisone injection in the knee.

If you have the habit of walking on hard surfaces without adequate cushioning, it must be avoided in the first 2-3 days. This prevents any further pain on your knee.

See also: How Blockchain Technology Is Revolutionizing Finance

Final Thoughts

Cortisone injections in the knee offer rapid pain relief. Some daily habits that can worsen the pain are ignoring the rest period, performing high-impact exercises, improper lifting, etc.

Concerned about Knee Pain After a Cortisone Injection?

Choose a renowned pain management clinic in Canada. Get an expert consultation beforehand to understand what habits are to be avoided after the injection. Eliminate the fear of pain afterwards, and get the procedure done seamlessly.