Lower back muscle pain can hijack and limit your life in every conceivable way, making you ready to go to every length to seek relief. While it is critical to address the cause of your muscle pain, it is equally important to find long-term relief. Epidural steroid injections provide a lasting solution in the treatment of chronic back pain. Are you looking to find a McAllen piriformis syndrome pain management specialist to give you meaningful relief and get back to doing the things you used to do? There is hope with the use of epidural steroid injections at Rio Grande Pain Team under the leadership of Dennis Slavin, MD.
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A Closer Look at Epidural Steroid Injections
Epidural steroid injections are a minimally invasive procedure for pain management. During treatment, your doctor injects a mixture of steroids and local anesthesia into your spine’s epidural space. The epidural space encloses your dural sac (protects your nerves and spinal cord) and is filled with fats. We now take a look at some myths surrounding the use of epidural steroid injections.
An ESI is for Lower Back Pain Only
Since an epidural is considered the primary pain management technique among women during childbirth, many believe that the procedure only works for pain relief in the lower back. However, your doctor can use epidural steroid injections to relieve pain along the length of your spinal cord including the neck. If you have problems in your cervical spine and your arms and lower extremities are affected, your doctor can address these using an ESI.
Steroids are not Good for Your Health
Since there is a history of steroids being abused, many believe that they are harmful to your health. Skilled and experienced professionals manage clinical use of steroids and there is no risk of abuse by patients. Your doctor uses steroids to manage inflammation, which presses on the nerves that are causing your back pain.
ESIs are for Chronic Pain Only
Epidural steroid injections play a vital role in the treatment of both chronic and acute pain. For instance, if you are experiencing acute pain from sciatica, your doctor will put you on ESI to get immediate relief from pain and provide you with ample time to engage in rehabilitative exercise and stretching. If you are dealing with chronic pain and have reservations about using medications for an extended period, the injections come handy in providing long-term relief as you look for ways to address the underlying problem.
You Only Need One ESI
ESI results differ from one patient to another and there is no specific timeline for these injections. Your injection may provide relief against pain for years, while another patient may require several sessions to obtain relief from pain. Further, you may require different injections to target specific pain-points depending on when pain is experienced.
If you are battling chronic or acute back pain, now is the time to act. Schedule an appointment with your doctor to explore whether an epidural steroid injection can work for you.