Osteoarthritis can affect many aspects of your life. It can prevent you from holding a pen, opening a jar, or walking easily.
A shot of corticosteroids (sometimes called a steroid shot) directly into a sore joint can ease pain quickly. Corticosteroids help fight inflammation -- the heat, redness, pain, and swelling in an injured or inflamed part of the body. Corticosteroid shots ease pain faster than anti-inflammatory pills.