Cervical, Thoracic, and Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injections
You probably know someone who has had epidural injections since they’ve become one of the most popular pain management procedure and have been used successfully for over 40 years.An Epidural Steroid Injection is a simple, safe, and effective non-surgical procedure that involves injecting a steroid medication, similar to cortisone, into the epidural space of your spine, which is the portion of the spine where i nflamed nerves are located.
The goal of Epidural Injections is to reduce inflammation and therefore relieve pain. This is a minimally invasive technique used to relieve a variety of painful conditions, including chronic pain in the Cervical, Thoracic, or Lumbar region of your spine. We use X-Ray guidance for Epidural Injections and local anesthesia. Epidural Injections usually takes no more than 5-10 minutes, followed by a brief recovery before discharge home.
- On the day of your injection, you should not have anything to eat or drink for at least eight (8) hours before your scheduled procedure.
- If you usually take medication for high blood pressure or any kind of heart condition, it is very important that you take this medication at the usual time with a sip of water before your procedure.
- It is imperative that you let us know if you are taking any type of medication that can thin the blood, and we’ll let you know whether to discontinue this medication prior to the procedure.
A typical Epidural Injection series consists of three injection sessions with an interval of two weeks between each session. However, the number of injections that you may require will depend on your response to each individual injection. If you have no pain following one injection, you will probably not need any additional treatment.
Most studies show that this treatment helps relieve pain for approximately half (50%) of the patients treated. The degree and duration of pain relief are variable and depend on many different factors, including the underlying diagnosis or condition being treated, duration of symptoms before treatment, whether previous back (neck) surgery has been performed and other factors. Epidural injections can be repeated if they were helpful in treating your pain. If you do not experience any pain relief after two injections, we may recommend a different treatment for your pain.
