One of the unique worries of the modern world is the side effects that certain medical procedures can have on our bodies. Back pain is a common wellness concern for a number of postmenopausal women and it’s not surprising that many women look for pain relief. But could there be some dangers to receiving steroid injections to relieve back pain? A study appears to confirm that this may indeed be the case.
According to the study by the Henry Ford Hospital, postmenopausal women who were given an epidural steroid injection to counteract their back pain also suffered a significant drop in bone density in their hips. The loss of bone density after six months was six times greater when compared to the typical bone density loss seen in a year in a postmenopausal woman who has not been given the steroid injection.
The study suggests that doctors will now have to approach the issue of steroid injections much more cautiously, taking special care to evaluate whether the patient has a serious risk of bone fragility. It was clear from the study that multiple steroid injections would have a strong negative impact on bone density and strength.
Back pain affects 8 out of 10 people at some point in their lives, which only tends to worsen as people get older. Patients are generally given anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve the pain at first, but if the symptoms persist or get worse, an epidural steroid injection is considered to the next sensible step. However, now that the injection has been directly linked with making bones less healthy, research may have to look into new ways to relieve back pain.
In the study 28 patients aged 65 and over, were evaluated for bone loss using bone density testing. The bone loss data was then compared against postmenopausal women who had not been treated with the steroid injection.
Comments are closed.