Mountain Project Logo

finger injuries and cortisone shots

Original Post
Omar Little · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 15

Sorry about another finger injury thread, but I have looked through a lot of others and have not found much about steroid injections.

So I just got back from seeing a hand surgeon about my nagging finger issues. He is having me get an MRI to see how my A1 and A2 pulleys look. He said that if they look OK he wants to do a cortisone shot assuming that I am dealing with some sort of tendonitis. I've heard that cortisone shots can weaken tendons... which seems like an overall bad idea since I seem to be limited by tendon strength these days.

Anyone have any experience with cortisone shots and fingers? Assuming I don't have any significant pulley issues I am leaning towards NOT getting a cortisone shot since it seems like a quick fix that could ultimately do more harm than good.

Thanks!

K-Tanz · · Phoenix, AZ · Joined Sep 2010 · Points: 211

Doctah J (not the basketball player with the hookshot) has addressed this

The Good Doctor

cfuttner · · Chicago, IL · Joined Apr 2012 · Points: 5

Had cortisone shot for nagging pulley injury. It did hurt like a mother but pain was gone pretty quickly and I was able to bend it again. My finger would lock up in the mornings. After the shot that was gone too. I was advised not to climb for two weeks due to the risk of weakening the tendons in the area of the injection but as I understand it the risk passes within those two weeks. Definitely worth the pain and time off. I had already taken 8 weeks off to try and rest it away with a course of ibuprofen but the pain came back when I started climbing again. Don't write off cortisone. It may help.

Northwest Corner · · Bend · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,505

I had cortisone shots in two of my fingers. It still took me about a year before I could climb again but it did help with the pain and every day tasks. I can concur with Jeremy though. When the doctor was preparing me for the shots, he introduced me to two nurses, who he said were there to hold me down because this would probably be the most painful thing I ever experienced. He was right. Excruciating really. When you are getting what seems like a half of vial of fluid injected directly into your knuckle... well, I've never been tortured, physically anyway, but I would imagine this would be splendid method for getting information.

Omar Little · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 15

Thanks for the info guys. Sounds like it could be very beneficial... although I do worry about the points Dr. J brings up. We'll see!

Yeah, I have had cortisone shots before and can only imagine how much they suck directly into fingers!

Martin Leidebrant · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2016 · Points: 0

I had shots in two fingers yesterday after 4 months of finger injury that refused to get away.
The injection itself did not hurt at all, although it felt pretty wierd.
One of the fingers did become swollen during the night but the doctor said that was to expected sometimes. The other one feels really good at the moment.

Will send an update with results in a few weeks!

Morgan Patterson · · NH · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 8,945

I had cortizone shots in my middle fingers at a young age to deal with trigger finger... took months off from climbing... and my fingers have been eff'ed up ever since. If I had to do it again I wouldn't 1000000000 times over.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35

Can you elaborate on effed up?

Also, was it one shot or many rounds of shots etc.

How long after the shots did you start having problems?

I'm super curious since all the cortisone shots I've had (hips, toes, metatarsals, and finger) have all been super positive experiences.

Morgan Patterson · · NH · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 8,945
highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote:Can you elaborate on effed up? Also, was it one shot or many rounds of shots etc. How long after the shots did you start having problems? I'm super curious since all the cortisone shots I've had (hips, toes, metatarsals, and finger) have all been super positive experiences.
Lol... sure... I had one shot in each finger (might have been two rounds, long time ago dont remember). After the shot he worked my fingers a bit and got them to open back up. I spent about 3-5 months afterwards not climbing. Then started back into it slowly doing easy routes. FF>> a year or so and I started noticing that when I was pulling hard (~V7-9) and especially on plastic, that my large knuckles on my fingers would swell. When they were swollen, if I placed my hand flat on a table, palm down, and push my middle fingers down, I would get very a odd and sometimes painful sensation around the knuckle, and extending along top of the finger down into the palm. During this swelling I would loose ROM for the middle fingers and be unable to fully close my fingers into a fist. If I squeezed my fingers to try to close them tight I would (and still do) get excruciating (like 9/10 pain) in and ontop of the knuckles. It litterally feels like someone is taking a eff'ing knife and inserting the blade into the tops of my knuckles as if to be cutting off my finger. To this day I can't push myself anymore indoors and out and if I do, my middle fingers' knuckles swell and then I get that pain. I've taken stretches of 6 months to a year off hoping that rest would help. Then slowly worked my way back up the grades and it seems like I just hit a grade ~11/12 where a small crimp will bring back the issue instantly as if I never even took a day off.

No dr has been able to tell me what's going on in my middle fingers since... xrays are fine but never was able to convince dr to get MRI done. To this day I live with the issue and is part of the reason I don't try to push hard at climbing... which really really sucks.

Oh... I also had two rounds of shots in my lower back and it too has been weak ever since. Part of that is a slight malformation of the hip bone around my SI joint but it too has always been weak after that first injury and round of cortisone despite years of PT. I never really saw any benefit with those shots. Obv there's more than just the shots with my back but the fingers it was pretty clear. But everyone's body is different and reacts differently...
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Injuries and Accidents
Post a Reply to "finger injuries and cortisone shots"

Log In to Reply

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.