For many types of leg and low back pain, epidural steroid injections (ESI) are indicated. This treatment aims to control pain. The epidural injection can provide temporary pain relief and may last up to one year. This is particularly beneficial to patients suffering from severe back or leg pain. It can often provide enough pain relief to allow you to do rehabilitative stretching exercises.
The low back area is where epidural injections are used to treat low back pain, radicular pain (also known as leg pain or sciatica), but can also be used to treat cervical (neck) pain. The injections are more effective for patients with “radicular” symptoms, such as sciatica, than those with back pain.
How Long Does an ESI Last?
It is not possible to predict how long they will be effective. The local anesthetic that is injected provides immediate pain relief, but it wears off within a few hours. The steroid kicks in between two and seven days. Its effects can last several days, up to one year, as noted above. You can get up to three more injections every two weeks. This will result in a gradual, but steady improvement in your pain. It is best to wait 6 to 12 months before you have to receive more injections.
What Is an ESI?
A spinal epidural steroid injection injects steroids directly into the epidural area. To help flush out inflammatory mediators around pain points, a local anesthetic or a normal saline solution may be used. A steroid is used as an anti-inflammatory drug. These low back conditions are often associated with inflammation. Therefore, it is important to reduce inflammation in order to alleviate the pain.
A medical professional wrote this article at Florida Medical Pain Management. Florida Medical Pain Management is proud to offer comprehensive pain management services to a diverse group of patients. Patients at Florida Medical Pain Management can get help managing hip, knee, leg, and neck pain. The practice also offers comprehensive arthritis management, along with treatments for auto accidents, sports, work injuries as well as ketamine infusion therapy.
