When researching treatment plans for your chronic pain, it’s important to look at all of your options when deciding which treatment works best for you. Depending on the source of your pain, epidural injections may be beneficial to your recovery plan. Are you wondering if you would make an ideal candidate for epidural steroid injections? Read on to learn more about epidural steroid injections from the leading physicians in pain management Los Angeles.
What Is An Epidural Corticosteroid Injection?
A steroid injection combines both a corticosteroid and an anesthetic numbing agent. The injection is delivered into the epidural space of the spine. The epidural space is the area between the bony vertebra and dura sac, which protects the spinal nerves and cord. The steroid injection is delivered through a syringe, which decreases the amount of time in which the pain medicine begins to take effect.
Who Benefits From the Epidural Corticosteroid Injection?
When faced with regular pain that is short-lasting, the pain management Los Angeles physicians would not recommend epidural steroid injections. However, there are a number of elements that may make you an ideal candidate for the epidural treatment:
- Long-lasting pain
- Pain that is difficult to treat
- Severe leg pain
- Persisting arm pain
- Discomfort from inflamed spinal nerves
Other conditions can make you ideal candidates for the treatment, including:
- Herniated discs
- Joint cysts
- Bone spurs
- Thickening ligaments in the spine
- “Slipped” vertebrae
Epidural corticosteroid injections work to free up the targeted area through inflammation reduction and allowing pain relief.
What to Expect During the Treatment
Our pain doctor Los Angeles team will begin by asking the patient to fill out consent forms, along with providing other medical information that our physicians will need to perform the procedure. From this point, our pain management Los Angeles team will prepare the patient for the injection.
The patient will be asked to lie down on an x-ray table. After the patient is prepared and comfortably positioned, a local anesthetic is used to help numb the treatment area to ensure minimal discomfort for the patient. Next, the pain doctor Los Angeles physician will insert the needle into the targeted area through the skin and between the bony vertebrae into the epidural space.
When the needle is inserted in the correct position, the medication is administered into the epidural space around the nerve roots.
Interventional Pain Doctors | Pain Management Los Angeles
The pain management Los Angeles physicians at Interventional Pain Doctors work with patients to find the best treatment plan that works to meet their needs. Dr. Nicholas Fuller, Dr. Chad Heng, Dr. Daniel Loder, and Dr. Jeffrey Jeng are the leading pain management physicians in the Los Angeles area. If you feel that you may benefit from epidural corticosteroid injections, visit our website or contact our offices today.