Many people have either heard the term hip bursitis or unfortunately experienced this condition. It is often believed that the bursa or fluid filled sac is the primary cause of pain and irritability. However, we now know that it is often the gluteal tendons that are the primary cause of pain and that physiotherapy can be extremely beneficial for this condition. To find out more about this please refer to the previous blog by myself called “Is my bursitis causing hip pain?” In that blog the anatomy and causes and treatment options of this hip pain, AKA Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS) are explored in greater depth.

So what about corticosteroid injections?

Corticosteroid injections are commonly used not only for GTPS but many other conditions as a way of alleviating pain. They do this because they are extremely potent anti-inflammatory medications that reduce pain on average by 55%. Research has suggested that although 72–75% of people have positive response at 4 weeks, these symptom changes are short lived and by 12 months there are no difference in outcomes between subjects receiving corticosteroid injection and those receiving usual care (analgesics as required). In addition the safety and benefit of repeated use remains unclear. When we consider GTPS often presents with limited inflammation, rather degenerative, thus the benefit of potent anti-inflammatory drugs may be unlikely. Furthermore these drugs often hinder the healing capacity of tendons. Due to these reasons although injections may help with pain in the short term, it is not a fix for the underlying issues and it is likely the pain will return if the tendon itself isn’t treated. So if you or anyone you know has “trochanteric bursitis”, before asking the doctor for an injection, have a try at some physiotherapy to try and address the underlying issues.

If you have enjoyed this blog and wish to know more below is a detailed article.

Grimaldi, A., Mellor, R., Hodges, P., Bennell, K., Wajswelner, H., & Vicenzino, B. (2015). Gluteal tendinopathy: a review of mechanisms, assessment and management. Sports Medicine, 45, 1107-1119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0336-5