What are epidural steroid injections?
Epidural steroid injections are a treatment that provides relief from pain from an inflamed nerve or disc. They’re placed into a space near your spine called the epidural space, which is located just outside of your spinal cord. Dr. Kline uses X-ray imaging to guide the injection into place near the compressed nerve in your spine.
Once the needle is in place, your provider injects a contrast dye into the area. The contrast helps them see specific structures on the X-ray and target them accordingly with the steroid injection.
An epidural steroid injection contains both an anesthetic to relieve pain quickly and steroids to fight inflammation. You might feel partial relief right away. However, the pain continues to improve gradually in the days after your injection.
What is an epidural nerve block?
Another type of epidural injection is called an epidural nerve block. It contains a type of anesthesia that stops pain signals from reaching your brain. The nerve block goes into your epidural space continuously through a catheter to keep you numb during a surgery.
What can epidural steroid injections treat?
Epidural steroid injections treat nerve pain and inflammation that starts in your spine. Such conditions can cause pain, numbness, or tingling in your affected extremity depending on the course of the nerve.
The team at Integrated Spine and Pain Services might recommend an epidural steroid injection if conservative treatments don’t provide relief for conditions such as these:
Herniated disc
The discs in your spine provide cushioning between the vertebrae. If one slips out of place, it can place pressure on nerves in your spine and cause pain.
Spinal stenosis
Spinal stenosis occurs when your spinal canal narrows. This can compress the nerves to cause widespread pain, numbness, or weakness.
Disc Pain
Tears in a disc can often cause pain in the back or neck, if inflamed.
How long do the effects of an epidural steroid injection last?
An epidural steroid injection can relieve the inflammation in the tissues surrounding the area to ease the pain and allow you to do more of what you want. The effects are different for everyone, but you may find pain relief for months or longer from epidural steroid injections.
For more information about epidural steroid injections and how they work to relieve inflammation, call Integrated Spine and Pain Services or book an appointment online today.
