What are Injectable Steroids & Vials?
Injectable Steroids & Vials (short for corticosteroids) are synthetic drugs that closely resemble cortisol, a hormone that your adrenal glands produce naturally. Corticosteroids are different from the male hormone-related steroid compounds that some athletes use.
Anabolic Injectable Steroids & Vials are synthetic, or human made variations of the male sex hormone, testosterone. The correct terminology is anabolic-androgenic steroids. Anabolic refers to muscle building and androgenic refers to increased male sex characteristics.
The main property of anabolics is to enhance the process of metabolism and assimilation of those substances that go to the construction of tissues of a living organism with simultaneous weakening of metabolic reactions associated with the disintegration of complex organic substances. Steroids stimulate protein metabolism. Anabolics activate a positive nitrogen balance, which also activates mineral metabolism, delaying the body potassium, phosphorus and sulfur necessary for protein synthesis, which contributes to calcium retention in the bones.
Steroids are derivatives of testosterone, so they have an androgenic effect, that is, act on the type of male sex hormone. In consequence, the formation of a male muscular figure (one of the key secondary sexual characteristics) is provided.
How are steroids given?
Steroid drugs are available in several forms that vary in how easily they dissolve or how long they stay in the body.
Steroids may be given systemically, which means throughout the “system” or body, or locally to the precise place where a problem exists.
Systemic steroids can be given either through a vein (intravenously, or IV), into a muscle (intramuscularly), or by mouth (orally). Local steroids can be given as eye drops, ear drops, and skin creams, or by direct injection into joints, bursae (lubricating sacs between certain tendons and the bones beneath them), or around tendons and other soft tissue areas.
What are the expected benefits of steroid injections?
Local steroid injections are generally well tolerated and are less likely than other forms of steroid medications to produce serious side effects.
Before a joint is injected with a steroid, joint fluid may be removed for testing. Testing the joint fluid is especially important if the diagnosis is uncertain. Steroid injections often reduce joint inflammation, helping preserve joint structure and function.
Steroid injections may help avoid the need for oral steroids or increased doses of oral steroids, which could have greater side effects.
What role do steroid injections play in an overall treatment plan?
Steroid injections can be added to a treatment program that may already include pain medications, anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy, occupational therapy, or supportive devices such as canes and braces. Whether one or more of these treatment methods are used depends on the nature of the problem.
For example, in an otherwise healthy individual, tendinitis may be adequately treated with only a local steroid injection. However, in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis, injections are generally a small part of a multifaceted treatment approach.
