Back and leg pain can significantly affect your range of motion and mobility. Pinched nerves due to the spinal cord’s narrowing is usually a prime suspect for back and leg pains. Epidural steroid injection (ESI) is a non-invasive treatment option that can help offer relief to enable you to regain an active lifestyle.  GarenGajian, MD and his team at Pain &Anesthesia Care can help if you are looking to find a center for epidural injection in New Brunswick.

What kind of pain does an ESI treat?

Epidural steroid injections can help manage pain due to:

•   Herniated disc: When your disc walls have a weak point, this can lead to a gel leak. When your spinal nerves come into contact with this gel, it can cause swelling and pain.
•   Disc bulge: You can also experience back pain when the vertebrae exert pressure on your discs, making it protrude into the spinal canal, leading to pressure on the spinal nerves.
•   Degenerative disc disease: When your vertebrae discs start to break down due to old age or disease, this can lead to the collapse of the disc space and abnormal bone growth around the disc. Disc spurs put pressure on your nerves, making your back feel pain.
•   Nerve root pain: This is pain on the nerves due to bulging out from the spinal cord. This pain can affect your neck, buttocks, lower back, feet, and thighs.
•   Sciatica: Sciatic pain occurs when your body’s longest nerve, the sciatic nerve, becomes inflamed. This causes numbness and shock-like pain that radiates from your buttocks down through your thighs to the foot.

When should I get an ESI?

ESIs provide an effective pain management solution if you have disorders affecting the bones or the back. Your doctor can incorporate physical therapy into your treatment plan. ESIs help manage pain so that you can complete your physical rehabilitation program. ESIs also help remove the need for more aggressive treatment options.

How long before an ESI starts to work?

ESIs contain a mixture of steroids and local anesthesia. While local anesthesia starts to work immediately after the injection, the steroids start to work 24-48 hours after treatment and work for weeks or months. This treatment option is both a short and long-term remedy against pain.

What can I expect after an ESI?

While epidural steroid injections cannot stop wear and tear in your spine, they help reduce swelling in the affected area, so that your body can start absorbing the disc fragments without having to endure pain. ESIs do not cause drowsiness, unlike other pain management medication. Your doctor only makes a small incision when placing the needle under your skin during treatment; thus, there are no scars. If ESIs do not provide relief from pain, your doctor will recommend surgery.

It is time to be liberated from back and leg pain so that you can continue doing the things you like to do. Consult your pain specialist to learn how epidural steroid injections can help.