When Is an Epidural Steroid Injection the Best Choice for Chronic Back or Neck Pain?

Chances are, you’ll experience back and neck pain at some point in your life. And if you’re like up to 70-80% of adults in the United States, that pain will significantly interfere with your daily life. 

If you relate to that conundrum all too well, you may be a good candidate for epidural steroid injections. 

Dr. Nicholas Perenich and his team at Spine Institute of Florida in Dade City and Spring Hill treat chronic neck and back pain through a range of effective options to bring you lasting relief. 

Let’s take a closer look at these symptoms, including how epidural steroid injections help and when to consider them.

What causes chronic back and neck pain

Most anything that negatively impacts your spine or surrounding tissues can lead to or worsen back and neck pain. The exact cause of chronic symptoms can be difficult to determine, but contributing factors may include:

• Degeneration of the spine linked with aging
• Overuse or strenuous activity
• Failed spine surgery
• Herniated discs
• Joint conditions, such as arthritis
• Nerve damage
• Improper posture during repetitive or heavy lifting
• Injections
• Injuries, such as fractures and sprains
• Growths, such as bone spurs or tumors
• Osteoporosis or weak bones
• Smoking
• Spinal stenosis
• Sports injuries

Carrying excess weight may also fuel back and neck pain by placing excess pressure on the discs in your spine. And if you’ve had neck and back pain your whole life, the cause may involve an abnormality you were born with.

When epidural steroid injections are ideal

Your ideal treatment for back and neck pain varies, depending on the cause and severity of your symptoms. Once any underlying cause has been addressed, pain that lingers on may benefit from physical therapy, medication, or a minimally invasive procedure. Severe cases may require surgery.

Epidural steroid injections may be a good option if your pain hasn’t responded sufficiently to other conservative treatments or you’d like to avoid invasive options, like surgery. Some people choose the injections as a way to avoid oral pain medications or to reduce their dosage. 

How epidural steroid injections help

Epidural steroid injections typically deliver a corticosteroid and a numbing agent into the fatty epidural area around your spine. Quickly following the treatment, you should notice pain relief from the anesthetic. Then, within 1-3 days, the steroid will bring additional benefits by alleviating inflammation.

While individual results vary, some people experience chronic pain relief that lasts for 3-6 months, at which point you could consider an additional injection. If your pain stems from a herniated disc, the relief may last even longer.

To learn more about epidural steroid injections for neck and back pain, call Spine Institute of Florida or schedule an appointment through our website today.