The Risks of Cortisone Shots for Foot Pain and Why PRP Treatment is a Better Option

Foot pain is hard to deal with and can profoundly affect your daily activities. While a cortisone shot can quickly stop the pain, these injections aren’t without risk.

If you face foot pain daily, it is time to consider PRP therapy as an alternative to cortisone shots. Read on to learn more about these foot pain treatments and why PRP treatment is a better option.

The Risks of Cortisone Shots

Cortisone shots are easy and quick ways to reduce pain and inflammation in almost any body part. The problem is cortisone shots are only a surface remedy. They resolve your pain but do nothing to counteract the reason you are in pain in the first place.

Additionally, receiving repeat cortisone shots in the same area can cause serious side effects. These side effects include weakening your tendons, causing nerve damage, and causing your bones to deteriorate.

As you can imagine, repeated cortisone shots in your feet can eventually cause irreparable damage that causes more pain than you experienced before the cortisone shots treatment.

Alternative Treatments

Shockwave Therapy

Shockwave therapy is a healing practice that uses electricity to stimulate muscle and tendon regrowth. Shockwave therapy has few side effects and doesn’t cause any lasting damage like cortisone shots, making it an excellent alternative.

While it’s a great alternative to cortisone shots, it doesn’t provide immediate relief like cortisone shots and doesn’t work for everyone. You’ll need to devote some time to the therapy before expecting relief from your foot pain.  

Laser Therapy

Laser Therapy is another course of treatment for relieving foot pain. Instead of an injection, laser therapy uses a laser over the injured area of your foot to promote healing.

While laser therapy is safer than cortisone shots, it doesn’t provide the immediate pain relief you may seek. Additionally, laser therapy takes some time to see results, meaning foot pain may continue for 2 to 4 weeks before the therapy begins to help.

PRP Treatment

As mentioned above, cortisone shots provide only temporary relief to foot pain. PRP therapy, conversely, is a regenerative treatment that can help your body heal from what was causing the pain to begin with while also stopping your foot pain quickly.

A PRP injection contains blood platelets that help promote healing in the injection area. Like cortisone shots, they provide immediate pain relief and work to heal the injury ailing you. In addition, PRP therapy can help tendons, muscles, and ligaments without side effects or long-term damage, making them the best alternative to cortisone shots.

Ready to Stop Your Foot Pain?

Whether you are an athlete with an injury or are simply dealing with chronic foot pain, it’s better to start skipping those cortisone shots. Instead, you should look for an alternative therapy, like PRP, to solve your foot pain at the root of the problem.

Contact us today or book an appointment online to start your PRP treatment. Using our foot and ankle treatment options, you will be on the path to healing in no time!