Avoiding Surgery
There is a growing and very illuminating body of research demonstrating that surgeries for back pain are, in many cases, unnecessary and ineffective. While the number of patients receiving lower back pain surgeries is growing, the number of patients actually finding long-term relief from such surgeries is not. While Epidural Steroid Injections do not directly address the causes of pain, they provide pain relief so that patients may begin the healing process through chiropractic care, therapeutic exercise programs, lumbar traction, laser therapy, and electrotherapy.
Cutting back on Medication
Because Epidural Steroid Injections are used to deliver long-lasting steroid and anesthetic medications directly to the source of pain, many patients find that they no longer need or can cut back on the use of analgesic medications. For patients suffering from lower back pain, this is very good news: oral medications (including prescriptions painkillers and over-the-counter drugs) can inflict serious damage to the body in the form of gastrointestinal issues and kidney/liver damage. Furthermore, they do not provide a targeted approach for pain; instead, medication is dispersed throughout the body.
Epidural Steroid Injections also flush out inflammatory chemicals and proteins from the site of pain while locally controlling inflammation. In addition to delivering steroids in the precise epidural space in the spine, saline or an anesthetic may be used to flush out these inflammatory substances.
