Epidural Steroid Injections
Description
Types of Epidural Steroid Injections
Cervical
This injection relieves pain in the neck, shoulders, and arms caused by a pinched nerve (or nerves) in the cervical spine. Conditions such as herniated discs and spinal stenosis can compress nerves, causing inflammation and pain. The medication injected helps decrease the swelling of nerves.
Lumbar
This injection procedure is performed to relieve low back and radiating leg pain. Steroid medication can reduce the swelling and inflammation caused by spinal conditions.
Sacroiliac Joint
This injection procedure is performed to relieve pain caused by arthritis in the sacroiliac joint where the spine and hip bone meet. The steroid medication can reduce swelling and inflammation in the joint.
Thoracic
This outpatient procedure is an injection performed to relieve pain in the upper back.
Back Injections
There’s almost nothing more debilitating than back pain. Whether caused by a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or something else, all that matters is getting rid of the pain – and getting back to being active.
When your low back pain or low back with radiating leg pain involves inflammation of the spinal nerves, the sports medicine physicians at Orthopedic ONE can help with a treatment known as Epidural Steroid Injections. The goal of this treatment is to decrease swelling and relieve pressure.
What Does the Epidural Steroid Injection Process Look Like:
- After numbing the lumbar or sacral area, the doctor uses an imaging (X-ray) guidance tool called a fluoroscope to locate the painful area.
- Then the doctor injects a combination of an anesthetic agent and cortisone steroid into the epidural space, which is the region where the spinal nerves travel.
- The spinal nerves absorb the anti-inflammatory medication, helping calm down the inflammation, pressure, and, of course, the pain.
*While you may benefit from a single injection, sometimes it takes two or three injections spaced several weeks apart for you to experience significant pain relief.
Back Steroid Injection Demonstrations
Get a more detailed look at this pain-relieving procedure for back pain in these videos:
