Lumbar Epidural
Lumbar epidural injections are procedures designed to relieve lower back pain associated with inflammation or pressure around the nerves in the lower back.
This inflammation can be caused by multiple different pathologies including spinal stenosis, neural foraminal stenosis, herniated discs, sciatica, degenerative disease, or inflammatory disease. The epidural space is the space surrounding the outer most layer of your spinal cord.
The nerves in your lower back will travel through the epidural space prior to extending into down your legs. Using Fluoroscopic guidance, steroid and anesthetic medication can be injected into this space to treat a variety of conditions that may irritate the cervical nerve root.
Patients can expect a modest increase in pain directly after their lumbar epidural as the medication will increase the amount of pressure on the spinal cord and surrounding nerve roots temporarily. As the medication starts to disperse you can expect pain relief.
Pain relief is different for everybody, depending on your pain and your individual condition, repeat injections may be required to achieve optimal outcomes.
