If your joint pain is hard to control with over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, joint injections could be your pain management solution. A joint injection delivers a solution or medication DIRECTLY into the space inside your joint. It sounds painful, but for some, these shots can offer relief and postpone the need for surgery. There are two types of injections typically given: Cortocosteroid and hyaluronic acid. Corticosteroid reduces inflammation and, as a result, eases pain. For conditions like bursitis, tendinitis, carpal tunnel, or tennis elbow, a single cortisone shot may be all you ever need. For arthritis, shots may need to be given periodically. However, most health professionals LIMIT the number of cortisone shots you get in a year to around 3 to 4, because repeated use of cortisone can deteriorate the cartilage in a joint. Other possible side effects, though rare, include: Thinning or death of nearby bone, Joint infection Nerve damage, Skin and soft tissue thinning around injection site, Temporary flare of pain and inflammation in the joint, Tendon weakening or rupture, Whitening or lightening of the skin around injection site, Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occuring substance found in all our joints. Research shows that injections of hyaluronic acid -or its synthetic version-don't STAY in the joints. But simply bathing the joints and surrounding tissue in hyaluronic acid seems to increase the viscosity of the fluids in the knee, decrease levels of inflammatory hormones called prostaglandins, and increase the thickness of cartilage on load-bearing surfaces. It's typically used to ease osteoarthritis in the KNEES. Treatment requires 1 to 3 injections. Relief can be almost immediate for some people, or may take a couple of days or weeks to kick in. But the effect of the injections can last for 9 months to even more than a year. To find out more about treatment methods for joint pain, see the rest of the videos in this series.