Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection

A lumbar epidural injection is a common tool to treat lumbar epidural pain. Since 1952, steroidal medication injection has successfully treated lower back pain and sciatica symptoms.

Today, your team relies on this proven technique to manage the pain you may have in your lower back. Following your lumbar epidural steroid cortisone shot injection recovery, you may not need more treatments since the pain relief gives your body sufficient time to heal. However, your physician often uses the lumbar epidural injection in concert with other treatments.

Pain after Lumbar Epidural Cortisone Steroid Injection Shot

Since the pain associated with an injection shot is so minor and passes within a couple of hours, it’s an ideal modality to relieve chronic and acute pain. With this effective pain treatment, you can better tolerate other remedies and rehabilitation plans your doctor recommends.
Long-term solutions for your lower back pain may include:

Rest
Activity modification
Directed stretching and strengthening exercises
Physical therapy
Low-impact aerobics
Ice and heat
Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications and pain relievers
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)

Why You May Qualify for a Lumbar Epidural Cortisone Injection in New York City

The dura mater is the soft tissue surrounding your spinal cord, and the phrase is the root of the word “epidural”, which is a nerve block injection designed to stop the pain you’re feeling in your lower body. In addition to a lumbar epidural, you might receive a cervical epidural to target neck pain or a thoracic epidural targeting moderate back pain.

While there are many reasons you may need a lumbar epidural cortisone injection shot, the most common ones seen by your doctor include:

Compression fractures
Herniated disc
Painful spinal cysts
Spinal stenosis
Degenerative disc disease

What to Expect During Cortisone Shot in New York City

The cortisone shot process takes between 15 and 30 minutes in the office of your Midtown pain management doctor. You begin by lying face down on an x-ray table so your physician can rely on fluoroscopy to deliver live pictures of your spine as he inserts the needle. Fluoroscopy helps your doctor direct the steroidal medication to the exact location of your pain; it reduces the need for an extended lumbar epidural steroid recovery precisely because it is so exacting.

You may feel some minor pressure as the steroid is injected into your back, but you generally won’t feel much pain after a lumbar epidural injection for back pain. Sedation is always an option if you’re too squeamish, but only a local anesthetic is usually required. Once you’re home and in the throes of lumbar epidural steroid recovery, you may feel slight tenderness at the injection site, but this is quickly numbed with ice.

Cortisone Shot Potential Risks and Side Effects

Under the guidance of an experienced pain and sports medicine doctor, side effects from an epidural cortisone shot are minimized. But as with any procedure, they can happen. Some risks associated with the lumbar epidural cortisone shot include:

Bleeding
Infection
Anxiety
Temporary blood sugar spikes
Stomach ulcers
Facial flushing
A dural puncture, also called a wet tap, leads to a headache that typically dissipates within a day or two
Temporary low immunity due to the immune-suppressing nature of steroids
Extremely rare nerve damage

Following Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection Recovery

You can usually return to your normal activities the day after the procedure. You may have some pain after a lumbar epidural cortisone steroid injection procedure that lasts longer than a day, but that’s also temporary. Your Manhattan pain management doctor may provide you with a prescription pain reliever to get you through the first couple of days.

Long-Term Lumbar Recovery

At the very least, the intermittent relief from chronic pain that you can get from a spinal cortisone shot gives your body time to heal naturally following an accident or other traumatic injury. Additionally, giving your mind a break from the constant barrage of discomfort and/or painkillers you need to take is equivalent to improving your overall quality of life.

When you live with chronic pain, building a relationship with your Midtown Manhattan pain management specialist helps as you make further decisions about your continued medical care. Once your doctor knows you better and understands your medical history, he can give you better advice regarding when might be the appropriate time for more invasive treatment like surgery.

Febin Melepura, MD is a top rated, best in class interventional pain management doctor. He is a nationally recognized pain relief specialist and is among the top pain care doctors in New York City and the country. He is an award winning expert and contributor to a prominent media outlets.

Dr. Febin Melepura has been recognized for his thoughtful, thorough, modern approach to treating chronic pain and, among other accolades, has been named a “top pain management doctor in New York”, and one of “America’s Top Doctors™” for an advanced sports injury treatments.