CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — Are you experiencing neck, mid-back or low back pain? Do you have pain traveling into your arms, chest or down your legs? Is there a time of day where your pain is more intense? Do you find looking down, breathing or standing for an extended period of time aggravating? Are you having trouble sleeping due to pain?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may benefit from an epidural steroid injection. An epidural steroid injection is an injection into the epidural space, which lies outside of the spinal cord and extends from the base of your skull to the sacrum. These injections can be performed in your neck, mid-back and low back depending on your specific problem area.

Back pain is one of the most common complaints seen in clinics. Back pain can be associated with a loss of function, or an overall decrease in the quality of life. This can be a huge burden on the overall health of the body.

Your doctor may order an X-ray, MRI or CT scan to further evaluate your problem area. When reviewing these tests with your doctor, you may hear words like spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease or arthritis. To put these words to term, these can be the cause of your pain, and epidural steroid injections from Desert Pain Specialists could be the answer.

How are epidural steroid injections done? First, we bring you into our procedure room and lay you on your belly, and wash and clean your skin using an alcohol-based cleaner. Then, using live X-ray guidance, we inject numbing medication (lidocaine) into the problem area. Once numbing medication has been injected, we then inject corticosteroid, which decreases inflammation in the area, providing pain relief that can last up to three months or more.

These procedures can be repeated three to four times a year. If you have a fear of needles or are nervous about this procedure, we offer light conscious sedation. Side effects of this procedure may include skin rashes, facial flushing, insomnia, headaches, elevated blood sugars and a jittery feeling. Though these are not common, side effects typically subside within five days.

To better prolong your pain relief, your doctor may also recommend physical therapy. A physical therapist can help demonstrate proper exercises to strengthen your core muscle groups and improve your posture.

If you feel like you may be suffering from any of these types of symptoms, please feel free to contact our office, Desert Pain Specialists, at 435-216-7000.

About Desert Pain Specialists

Desert Pain Specialists is Southern Utah’s premier interventional pain management team. The doctors and the entire staff are dedicated to helping patients find relief from their pain. Their state-of-the-art facility in St. George allows them to offer unmatched quality of care for their patients.

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Resources

• Desert Pain Specialists | Telephone: 435-216-7000 | Email: [email protected] | Desert Pain Specialists.
• Locations:
  • St. George: 617 E. Riverside Drive, Suite 301.
  • Cedar City: 1760 N. Main St.
  • Mesquite, Nevada: 340 Falcon Ridge Parkway, Suite 600.

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