Epidural Steroid Injections
For certain types of neck, thoracic, and lower back pain, your doctor may suggest an epidural steroid injection.
With this type of treatment, medication is injected into your neck, mid-back, or lower back area near your spine. Epidural Steroid Injections have become an integral part of the non-surgical care of spine disorders. These injections provide both diagnostic information and therapeutic benefits with pain relief. They also help your doctor correlate abnormalities found on X-rays, CT scans, or MRI's.
Epidural Steroid Injections relieve pain from:
- Disc herniation
- Pinched nerves in the neck or back
- Stenosis
- Compression fractures from osteoporosis
- Herpes zoster (shingles) infections
The types of steroids used for these injections are similar to what your body produces to decrease inflammation. Because they are put in the area of suspected pain, low doses can be used, allowing the medication to remain effective, while avoiding side effects that occur with high doses of anti-inflammatory steroids.
About the Procedure
Epidural Steroid Injections can be performed safely at Doctor Bender’s office. The only preparation is for some patients to stop their blood thinner medication a few days prior to the procedure. Your doctor will discuss this with those patients on this type of medication.
You will be asked to fill out a consent form. The risks and complications from this type of procedure are rare but treatable. These risks include infection or bleeding in the epidural space, spinal headaches, or nerve damage. You should feel free to ask your doctor how often this has occurred in their practice.
Epidural spinal injections are relatively pain-free when performed with a fluoroscopy machine (x-ray imagery). This type of x-ray image allows your doctor to see exactly where the injection needs to go.
Therapeutic Epidural Injections are best used in combination with a well-designed spinal rehabilitation program.
What to Expect During an Epidural Injection Procedure:
- You will be asked to come to the fluoroscopy room.
- You'll lie down on your tummy on the fluoroscopy table.
- The area to be injected will be viewed with the fluoroscopy unit.
- Your skin will then be cleaned with an antiseptic solution.
- The doctor will inject a local anesthetic (pain medication) into the skin, muscles, and ligaments.
- This sensation is a very brief, mild sting to the skin and a slight pressure sensation in the muscle.
- The epidural injection will be performed causing a slight pushing or pressure sensation.
- A contrast dye will be injected to document for the doctor that the medication is positioned in the appropriate place. This sometimes causes a mild pressure sensation in the leg or arm.
- You will be able to leave the office shortly afler the procedure and resume normal activity.
- You may experience a little muscle soreness the next day.
- Call the doctor for any reason you feel is necessary after the procedure.