Does Your Pain Persist After Conservative Measures?

Pain can come and go on its own or with conservative measures, including using over-the-counter painkillers. However, sometimes pain may persist even after you exhaust conservative measures to manage the condition. At this point, you might benefit from epidural injections alongside some of those conservative measures such as rest. Garen Gajian, MD, a pain management physician at Pain & Anesthesia Care, offers epidural injection in New Brunswick and can help. Dr. Gajian encourages patients to seek the treatment procedure if they experience chronic back, arm, or leg pain that does not go away with conservative treatments.

What the Injection Entails

Doing anything for the first time attracts several feelings, and you can feel scared and uncertain as you do not know what you are to expect. However, it might make you comfortable to hear about the injection before you get one. The injections involve a mixture of a local anesthetic and corticosteroid which helps in relieving the pain. The anti-inflammatory property of the corticosteroid makes it the primary source of pain relief.

Conditions Treatable through Steroid Injections

As mentioned earlier, steroid injections are for painful conditions. Complications such as herniated disc, spinal stenosis, and sciatica exhibit pain in your back and throughout your body. Besides, a herniated disc can also cause a pinched nerve causing deep pain from the nerve. Epidural injections can reduce inflammation in the nerves relieving pain associated with nerve impingement.

Epidural injections can also alleviate pain due to bone spurs, failed surgeries, and bulging discs. Therefore, if you are enduring pain due to these complications, you can be a good candidate for the treatment option.

Getting the Injection

It would be good to book a consultation appointment with your provider to evaluate your condition and be certain that an epidural injection is proper for you. Once you are found to be a good candidate for the treatment procedure, your provider can give you the necessary instructions to prepare in advance. As you walk into the office during your appointment day, be still and know that you will not be there for long. The procedure is quick, and you will be on your way after about thirty minutes.

You are provided with a lovely hospital gown at the office and directed to lay face down on a table. The exact position for the injection will depend on the particular complication causing the pain. Steroid injection is relatively painless, and all you can feel is a bit of pressure. However, you can receive a local anesthetic to ease the discomfort you can experience. A needle is used to control the amount of the mixture injected, and the injection area is cleaned afterward.

Results

One thing about epidural injection to keep in mind is that you will not experience relief right away. The infusion will take effect within 24-48 hours after the procedure, and that is when you can expect to experience some improvements. The injection duration can depend on the severity of your underlying condition and symptoms. You can experience relief for several days or weeks or up to several months.

If your pain persists after conservative measures, it’s time you tried epidural injections. If you don’t know where to begin, start by contacting an epidural injections specialist such as Dr. Gajian to learn if it is suitable for you.