How long to stop lifting after a cortisone shot?

[devildog]

Hello
How long do you stop lifting after a cortisone shot. Got one in my shoulder Thursday and forgot to ask how long I should lay up for. Thanks.

[Belle]

Just posting this link about sporting injuries and cortisone shots for you:

http://www.sportsprolo.com/cortisone...olotherapy.htm

It is hard to say half the time if working the affected area immediately after something like that is good or bad since your working something that takes a while to heal if it involves ligaments, and a few weeks if torn muscle. Cortisone and nsaids stop pain but I often wonder if it just gives you a false sense of security because the pain being taking away does not help you were judgement of how much you can do is concerned. Pain and inflammation are just your bodies warning to slow down and take care of yourself. It's good to have pain and inflammation as it is your signal to ease off. If you work things too soon with some injuries it can weaken the whole joint and make things worse. That's due to your bodies own inflammatory response due to over working the joint. Cortisol levels raise higher and higher when there is more inflammation due to making the whole thing worse, and that weakens the surrounding ligaments and muscle. So working out in that situation aggravates it which some folks may do when they have killed the pain.

The above article covers such injuries anyway. Ligaments are slower to heal and repair than muscle 6-10 weeks atleast. Whilst the shot calms inflammation it also weakens muscle just like raised cortisol levels would if you made that yourself. I am sure that the cortisone would be excreted from a shot within few days though. You should have atleast had some reduction in inflammation by then and be able to gauge yourself if you can work that joint or injured part again.

My Doctor didn't give a cortisone shot because he obviously felt I needed to go easy on it and using pain as an indicator was obviously something he felt was best.

[Charger]

Did the Doc tell you not to lift? Buddy of mine lifted the next week after a shot, had good results even if they are temp.

[Belle]

Not sure if that is for me...In my case he didn't. I was just told told to push myself, and use pain as my guide. In other words, it should feel only as uncomfrotable as exercising any other muscle group and when it is MORE than that or becomes a discomfort to stop immediately and give yourself time to repair.

However, when you have had a cortisone shot, this weakens muscle and ligaments so I would be careful that's all. I didn't have that and was totally relying upon my body to pick up the injury and make it's own level of cortisol in response to that. It takes longer and also it isn't in such a concentrated amount than the shots they give in the injury site it, and is in the body as a whole. With shots it is to a small extent all over but a lot more concentrated in the joint or muscle than it would be than normally produced cortisol--where you have the shot. Cortisol is good as long as it isn't over kill. It is all part of the process of repair. Prostaglandins are raised immediately after to make you aware of the pain and problem. Cortisol is anti inflammatory and is secreted in response to the effects that prostaglandins have upon your perception of pain (in the way of stress) and pituitary--it secretes ACTH when there is stress or injury in varying degrees pertinent to the type of injury or stress. The adrenals pick up the need for it from ACTH. However, like I say when made by your own adrenals, it just takes longer and it is in a more appropriate physiological dose to deal with the injury--not overkill and in the muscle or joint only.

In fact cortisol is raised after a workouts and is not a really bad thing in itself as it is one of the things that is needed to help calm inflamed muscles that have the tears in and to make it so that blood is increased to the muscles and nutrients. It's just that TOO high an amount can weaken the muscle as opposed to making it stronger and this is what happens when your workouts are too long.