I actually did try steroids once in high school because I tried a lot of things in high school, but that’s another story for another time.
I went back to the hand specialist yesterday and he took a boo at my MRI / scan results, proclaiming that ‘unfortunately’ it’s not very bad. If it WERE bad then he’d recommend an operation to clean up the damage, but since the ligament is not ‘unstable’, i.e. it’s still doing its job in there, he was forced to give me a couple of shots of cortisone.
I told him that sounded sort of temporary and he said that sometimes it is and sometimes it is’t. I asked him if there was any danger in the small hole in my ligament growing and making things ‘unstable’, and he said sometimes that can happen. I finally asked him if these things can fix themselves over time. You guessed it, ‘sometimes they can’.
However tentative he was with his answers, he was solid on the injections, and I only winced once.
Question: anyone out there have experience with cortisone shots, particularly for ligament/tendon issues?
The Vicious Cycle 
Yes. I had several. The results varied, and diminished the more I had them, but you might get some relief. It’s also a good diagnostic tool. If your hand doesn’t get better from the shot, then it might be worse.
Unfortunately it isn’t going to add 200 watts to your cycling regime. I do remember having more energy and stamina a few days after a shot, but that was probably my mind playing tricks.
Hope it works!
I could use those 200 watts. That’s too bad.
I’m not happy about having to wait to find out whether it’s going to work, since it’s going to cut into my season next year, but it’s probably prudent to avoid an operation if it can be done, I guess.
Thanks for the helpful feedback.
I have had shots for my shoulder and ankle. Two from a local doctor didn’t do a lot of good but two different ones from a consultant in the hospital, hit the spot and worked wonders.
I was thinking how important it looked to be to get those shots in the ‘right place’ when the doc was being so careful where to pointed them.
I would think so. My view is to get these things done by the person who has the most experience of doing them regularly.
What happened?
The unfortunately meeting of me on my bike and a German camper van back in June: https://viciouscycle.blog/2017/06/18/40-to-0-in-one-second/
Oof! So often it is worse when no bones are broken…