Back Pain? Steroid Shots May Raise Fracture Risk
Back Pain? Steroid Shots May Raise Fracture Risk
Mandel still uses epidural steroid shots to treat patients with back pain, and he says he has even had the injections himself.
“They were very helpful,” he says. “There is definitely a place for this treatment.”
But he adds that patients at risk for fractures should be warned about the risk and followed closely if they have the treatment.
Orthopaedic surgeon Neil S. Ross, MD, of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, who reviewed the research, says the study does not convince him that epidural spinal shots increase fracture risk.
While he does not give the shots, Ross says he has referred many patients to doctors who do.
“I would not change my recommendations about this treatment based on this study,” he says, adding that more study is needed to confirm the findings.
These findings were presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.
Back Pain? Steroid Shots May Raise Fracture Risk
More Study Needed, Doctor Says continued...
Mandel still uses epidural steroid shots to treat patients with back pain, and he says he has even had the injections himself.
“They were very helpful,” he says. “There is definitely a place for this treatment.”
But he adds that patients at risk for fractures should be warned about the risk and followed closely if they have the treatment.
Orthopaedic surgeon Neil S. Ross, MD, of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, who reviewed the research, says the study does not convince him that epidural spinal shots increase fracture risk.
While he does not give the shots, Ross says he has referred many patients to doctors who do.
“I would not change my recommendations about this treatment based on this study,” he says, adding that more study is needed to confirm the findings.
These findings were presented at a medical conference. They should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.