Popular Arthritis Shot Accelerates Joint Damage
If you’re suffering from chronic pain, the promise of relief—even if it’s temporary—can be difficult to pass up.
That’s what makes steroid injections for knee osteoarthritis so enticing. For many, they provide much-needed relief for months at a time.
But a new study has revealed you could pay a devastating price.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, studied 70 people with knee osteoarthritis.
A little more than half received corticosteroid injections, while the rest got hyaluronic acid. There was also a control group that didn’t receive any treatment.
All of the patients completed MRIs before the injections, at the time of injection, and two years later to assess how the disease progressed over time.
Unsurprisingly, the steroid and the hyaluronic acid injections reduced knee pain.
So far, so good.
But two years later, those who received the steroid shot had significantly greater structural damage in their joints—particularly in the cartilage—compared to the other groups.
In other words, the shots sped up disease progression, ultimately making the condition worse.
Even more shocking… this was the case after just ONE injection!
Doctors routinely administer these shots every four months to arthritis patients. That’s because as soon as they wear off, the pain comes back with a vengeance, and people are desperate for relief.
If just one injection can accelerate the disease, imagine what getting them every few months will do.
In contrast, the hyaluronic acid injections reduced knee pain and didn’t cause any structural damage to the joint over time. In fact, hyaluronic acid actually appeared to reduce the joint deterioration.
Corticosteroids work by reducing inflammation and swelling, which reduces pain.
Hyaluronic acid replenishes the synovial fluid in the joints. This cushions the joint and acts as a shock absorber. Some studies even indicate that hyaluronic acid can slow the deterioration of cartilage.
So, instead of making your OA worse, hyaluronic acid can help slow its progression.
A similar study published three years ago came to the same conclusion.
Unfortunately, it’ll take a long time before official clinical guidelines change.
However, any doctor worth their salt should review studies like these and start offering hyaluronic acid as a viable alternative. They should also inform their patients about the benefits—and the risks—that come with steroid injections.
Then, you can make an informed decision about your health, both now and in the future.
P.S. Top five supplements for BETTER joints.
View Sources
Upasana U. Bharadwaj, John A. Lynch, Gabby B. Joseph, Intra-articular Knee Injections and Progression of Knee Osteoarthritis: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, Radiology, Vol. 315, No. 2, Published Online: May 27 2025, DOI:10.1148/radiol.233081
