What is cortisone? Cortisone is a type of steroid that is
produced naturally by a gland in your body called the
adrenal gland. Cortisone is released from the adrenal gland
when your body is under stress. Natural cortisone is
released into the blood stream and is relatively
short-acting. Injectable cortisone is synthetically
produced and has many different trade names (e.g. Celestone,
Kenalog, etc.), but is a close derivative of your body's own
product. The most significant differences are that synthetic
cortisone is not injected into the blood stream, but into a
particular area of inflammation. Also, the synthetic
cortisone is designed to act more potently and for a longer
period of time (days instead of minutes).