What are the major indicators for having Epidural Injections?
Epidural injections are usually indicated for people who are suffering from chronic back pain or sciatica and have not been able to find relief from the never ending pain through the use of conventional treatment methods. Patients with a bulging or herniated disc are perfect candidates for receiving epidural injections.
In addition to this, spinal stenosis is another medical condition for which an epidural injection can prove to be very useful. Victims of a car accident who have suffered a spinal injury or people recovering from failed back surgery syndrome will also find epidural injections very effective for alleviating their back pain.
In some cases, the epidural injections are used to deliver an anesthetic to the spinal nerves which stops them from sending pain signals to the brain and thus curb the pain being felt by the patient. The use of fluoroscopy improves the accuracy and efficacy of the epidural injections (Weiner, 2002)
What to expect when having Epidural Injections?
The epidural injections are administered using a hypodermic needle. You will be asked to lie down on your stomach. The doctor is going to apply anti-septic solution and a local anesthetic on the skin of the area above the epidural space where the injection is to be inserted.
The anti-septic is going to clear the bacteria while the anesthetic will numb the area so that you do not feel any kind of pain when the injection is inserted into the epidural space. After ensuring that the needle is placed at the right spot using X-ray guidance, the Seattle pain management doctor is going to inject the contents of the injection into the epidural space. A band-aid is going to be applied over the injection site once the procedure has been completed.
There are three types of epidural injections:
What are the risks of having Epidural Injections?
Infection remains the biggest risk of epidural injections. There is also a chance of a reaction happening to the medication that is delivered in the injection. However, the risks and complications associated with epidural injections are unusual.
This is whether the pain is from spinal stenosis or a herniated disc in either the low back or neck. Risks are very low, and the injections can help you avoid surgery!
Call Seattle Pain Relief today for the top epidural injection specialists in Seattle.
References
Ray, Charles E. Pain Management in Interventional Radiology. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2008. Print.
Weiner, Richard S. Pain Management: A Practical Guide for Clinicians. Boca Raton: CRC, 2002. Print.