Epidural Steroid Injection

What is an epidural steroid injection?

Your epidural space is a narrow, fat-filled sleeve that surrounds and protects your spinal sac and spinal cord. Inflammation around or in your epidural space can compress your spinal cord or peripheral nerves, causing a range of disruptive symptoms. 

An epidural steroid injection delivers a powerful anti-inflammatory medication directly into your epidural space to reduce the swelling and relieve your symptoms. You can have epidural steroid injections and nerve blocks in your lumbar (lower), thoracic (middle), or cervical (neck) spine to alleviate pain. 

What conditions improve with epidural steroid injections?

Republic Spine and Pain includes epidural steroid injections in treatment plans for conditions such as:

• Herniated discs
• Spinal stenosis
• Sciatica
• Bone spurs
• Injuries to vertebrae, surrounding tissue in your back, and spinal nerves
• Failed back surgery

They often combine epidural injections with physical therapy, oral medications, and complementary therapies to relieve your pain and enhance your health and well-being. 

What happens during an epidural steroid injection?

Epidural steroid injections are minimally invasive outpatient procedures. Your doctor begins by preparing you with a local anesthetic at your injection site. If you’re nervous or have a fear of needles, you can talk to your doctor about a mild sedative to help you relax. 

Then, using fluoroscopy — a special type of X-ray — your doctor guides a hollow needle into the inflamed part of your epidural space. They begin by injecting a contrast dye to ensure that the medication goes to the precise location where it’s needed. Finally, they inject the steroid into your epidural space and remove the needle. Your doctor may bandage your injection site, but you won’t need stitches. 

What should I expect after an epidural steroid injection?

In most cases, you should notice your pain subsiding within three days. Your body needs a little time to respond to the anti-inflammatory and for the swelling to subside. 

Epidural steroid injections are usually combined with other therapies. When the pain of spinal compression is gone, you can have physical therapy or other treatments to address the condition causing the inflammation and reduce your risk of future pain.

If you have back pain, neck pain, or pain and numbness that radiates into your arms and legs, call Republic Spine and Pain or make an appointment online today to find out if epidural steroid injections are right for you.