What is an epidural injection?
Epidural injections are injections into your spine. The injections are commonly used to relieve pain, treat herniated discs, and more. You may have heard these injections also called steroid or spinal injections.
Epidural injections deliver powerful anti-inflammatory medications into the epidural space, which is the area outside of a fluid-filled sac surrounding your spinal cord. Sometimes other medicines, like anesthetics, are also injected to help ease your symptoms.
What do epidural injections treat?
Your doctor at Progressive Spine & Sports Medicine typically recommends epidural injections as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. The injections can help with:
- Herniated discs
- Sciatica
- Low back pain
- Neck pain
- Degenerative disc disease
- Lumbar spinal stenosis
- Compression fractures
- Cysts
Injections offer short-term pain relief but are just one component of an effective treatment plan. The doctors at Progressive Spine & Sports Medicine often incorporate a variety of advanced interventional procedures to provide more lasting results. Their goal is your long-term benefit.
What happens during an epidural injection?
The injection is performed at Progressive Spine & Sports Medicine as an outpatient procedure with the guidance of live spinal imaging. During your treatment, you typically lie on your stomach or your side.
Your doctor cleans and numbs the injection site. You might be given medicine to help you relax.
Your doctor inserts a needle into your back, injecting a mixture of anti-inflammatory medication and a numbing agent into your back. You might feel a slight pressure as this happens.
Most of the time, the injection isn’t painful. It’s important to remain very still during the procedure because the injection needs to be precise.
Once your injection is over, you remain at Progressive Spine & Sports Medicine for 15-20 minutes so your doctor can observe you, and then you go home.
What happens during an epidural injection?
You might feel a slight bit of discomfort afterward, but the feeling typically goes away after a few hours. The injected steroid usually begins working in 2-3 days.
You should notice an improvement after the injection for a number of weeks or months. Your doctor explains what to expect and whether you might benefit from other treatments to provide long-term results.
If you’ve been suffering from back pain, sciatica, or a related condition, an epidural injection can help relieve your symptoms. To find out more, call Progressive Spine & Sports Medicine today or book a consultation online.
