Background: Local anesthetic pain-killing injections are commonly used by some professional football teams to allow continued play for certain injuries; however, the long-term safety of this practice has not been studied.
Conclusion: The most commonly injected injuries-acromioclavicular joint sprains, finger and rib injuries, and iliac crest contusions-appear to be quite safe (in the context of professional sport) to inject at long-term follow-up. Conversely, ankle, wrist, and sternum injections appear to be less safe. A few injuries may have been substantially worsened by playing after an injection.
