EPIDURAL STEROID INJECTIONS
If you suffer from chronic joint pain, don’t hesitate to Schedule an appointment with one of our orthopedic specialists. Call 817.697.4038 to see if an Epidural Steroid injection may help you.
What is a Steroid Injection?
Neurosurgeons and Pain Management Specialists use Epidural Steroid injections to help patients with pain. The specialist injects a high dose of medication directly into a particularly problematic spot in the body. Specialists often use this type of treatment for joint issues and rheumatoid arthritis. These medications may also sometimes help alleviate conditions affecting the soft tissues, like tendon inflammation. Steroids and corticosteroids help to reduce inflammation. The human body can produce corticosteroid hormones on its own. However, physicians can use a synthetic version of those hormones to relieve a wide range of conditions. Although very fast-acting and effective, Steroid Injections do wear off over time.
Doctors can inject corticosteroids into joints, muscles, and other tissues around the spine and the bloodstream. Steroids like hydrocortisone help to relieve bursitis and muscle and tendon pain. Other steroids like triamcinolone and methylprednisolone treat painful joints.
What Conditions Do Steroid Injections Treat?
The main purpose of a steroid injection includes decreasing pain and increasing the movement of the affected joints. Since steroid tablets can cause serious side effects, Neurosurgeons recommend steroid injections over tablets. Local steroid injections help reduce inflammation and pain in a localized area. Specialists can also use this type of injection in the case of soft tissue inflammation, such as:
- Bursitis, prepatellar bursitis, olecranon bursitis
- Tennis elbow
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Plantar fasciitis
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Abnormal nerve growth or neuroma
Additionally, spinal specialists use corticosteroid injections to treat a wide range of conditions, including:
- Arthritis
- Disc problems
- Sciatica
- Joint pain
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Several autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and multiple sclerosis (MS), etc.
How Long Do Steroid Injections Take to Work?
Patients need to rest the injected joint for a minimum of 1 or 2 days after the steroid injection. Typically, physicians recommend to avoid intense activity for at least 5 days. Physicians will repeat the injection with a similar dose after the first injection if it proves successful. Physicians suggest not getting any more than 4 injections into the same area within a 12 month span.
Fast-acting steroid injections provide quick relief from pain and usually lasts for about a week. Longer-lasting steroid injections take around 1 week to start feeling the effects and can last around 2 months or longer. Neurosurgeons use a local anesthetic with steroids during the initial injection to reduce the discomfort of the injection. Simple painkillers may also help after the injection of steroids into joint or soft tissue.
If you would like to speak to one of our orthopedic specialists, give us a call at 817-697-4038, or contact us over the web. Tele-medicine appointments are also available.
