Back Pain Injections

Back Pain Injections are also commonly called epidural injections. Epidural spinal therapy started in the early 1900s and is most often used to treat lower back pain. Epidural injections are given directly into the painful area of the back via hypodermic needle as a minimally invasive outpatient procedure.

back pain injections

Types of Back Pain Injections

Spinal injections are sometimes a combination of corticosteroids and flushing solution. The mix will reduce inflammation due to irritating proteins leaking from a ruptured disc in about 50% of patients. Other varieties of injections include nerve blocks, which are used to relieve symptoms of chronic pain from a wide range of causations. Finally, prolotherapy is also becoming a popular treatment option for those patients who are looking to increase their body's own healing capacity using this controversial therapy modality.

Back Pain Injections Procedure

Epidural injections are typically given while the doctor views the needle under specialized live x-ray equipment (fluoroscopy). It is critical that the doctor sees exactly where the needle is going, before injecting the medicine into the back. The procedure is fast and not terribly uncomfortable. If your doctor is not using fluoroscopy for your epidural treatment, there is a good chance that the medicine will not get to the exact location it is needed. In this case, you might want to consider going to a more detail oriented pain specialist...

Pain relief may last from a week to a few months on average. Multiple injections may be given over a period of time to keep pain relief maximized.

Recommendation for Back Pain Injections

Epidural injections are most often prescribed for chronic back pain which has not responded to more conservative therapies. Spinal injections for back pain are most commonly used for herniated discs, but are also prescribed for spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease and virtually any other long term pain condition in the back or spine. Treatment statistics are acceptable for herniated disc patients, but are mostly inconclusive for many other back pain conditions.

If you are on the path towards back surgery, I would recommend trying epidural injections for back pain. They will not cure your problem, but will control your pain while you work towards a true CURE. The verdicts on this treatment are mixed, but compared to surgery, it is worth the effort to try. Just remember that this is yet another form of symptomatic back pain treatment.

Recently, pain specialists have glorified treating back pain using powerful anesthetics and nerve blocking agents. While this therapy might be humane for some patients, it can cause side effects and addictions in others. Be extremely careful about failing into an ongoing program of pain management using these powerful drugs!
Back Pain Injections to Lower Back Pain Home 5/30/06 Revised 5/31/08