The discs between your vertebrae take on a lot of wear-and-tear on a daily basis. This makes them very prone to injury, along with pain. So how can you get decent pain relief without undergoing surgery? Steroid injections may be the answer.
At Delmarva Pain and Spine Center, our team gets you the help you need when you’re dealing with back pain. Our pain management specialist, Dr. Sachi Patel, provides many different treatments for disc-related back pain, including steroid injections.
Your spine is a vital part of your body, so when you suffer an injury or problem there, it causes issues with your daily activities. This is especially true when it comes to your intervertebral discs.
Your spinal cord is housed between the tough, protective bones of your spine, which are known as your vertebrae. In between each vertebrae is a rubbery disc that absorbs some of the shock to your spine from activities like jumping or running. While these discs are tough, over time they can wear down or become injured.
One of the most well-known injuries to your intervertebral discs is known as a herniated disc. This condition happens when the inner part of your disc pushes out through the tougher outer shell of the disc. This can lead to a variety of symptoms, including:
The symptoms from a herniated disc are heavily dependent on what part of your back is affected, and if the injured disc is pressing on a nerve. Sometimes, you may have a herniated disc and not have any symptoms at all.
Herniated discs aren’t the only problem that can affect your discs. Degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis are other issues that can lead to the above symptoms in your back.
Steroid injections are a type of minimally invasive treatment that’s used for a variety of different issues in your body, including back pain. Dr. Patel uses epidural steroid injections to help you get pain relief from disc conditions that are pressing on nerves in your spine.
But what’s in a steroid injection? These treatments involve Dr. Patel injecting numbing medication along with a strong anti-inflammatory medication known as cortisone. Cortisone is a type of steroid medication that calms down the inflammation in your back.
Epidural steroid injections are performed using X-Ray guidance, to make sure Dr. Patel is in the exact area that’s causing you pain. Dr. Patel then injects the cortisone into the epidural space, which is the area that protects your spinal cord from damage.
Steroid injections are a great option when other, more conservative, treatments haven’t given you significant pain relief. These treatments may include physical therapy or over-the-counter medications.
Steroid injections help to relieve the inflammation in your spine due to a number of different conditions, including those that affect your discs. They also provide other benefits as well, including:
When you have an issue with your spinal discs, the symptoms make even simple tasks seem impossible. However, with a steroid injection, you could get weeks to months of relief with minimal side effects.
After a steroid injection, you might be able to feel some relief from your pain right away. However, you’ll notice the best results within a week or so after your injection. While steroid injections don’t fix the problem, they do provide relief from pain and other symptoms for months, which can help you to avoid surgery.
Don’t continue to suffer from back pain — call our office at 302-355-0900 to learn more about steroid injections. You can also book an appointment with us online today.
