If you have experienced lower back pain that radiates down your leg, you may have sciatica. As many 40% of people will experience Sciatica in their lifetime. For some, sciatic pain can be a pain that only comes once in a while, but for many it can cause extreme difficulty when attempting everyday tasks. It can cause extreme pain when sitting, walking or laying and no sciatic pain is the same.
For those experiencing sciatica, a great option for pain relief could be epidural injections. Epidural Steroid Injections are used in our office on a variety of neck pain, back pain, and nerve pain conditions to allow our patients to find relief. They are a minimally invasive procedure that can provide great relief.
Symptoms of Sciatica
Your sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in your body, so if it becomes irritated or compressed you could very well start to experience intense pain symptoms. Some commons symptoms that those with sciatica include:
- Pain that can range from a mild ache, a sharp burning, or to an excruciating pain
- Numbness/Tingling in lower back, buttock, or leg
- Muscle Weakness in lower back, buttock, or leg
- Severe issues such as bladder or bowel control issues
Epidural Injection Procedure
When you arrive at the clinic for an epidural injection, first a local anesthetic is injected into the skin to numb the procedure area. Then a small needle is inserted into the epidural space with fluoroscopy (Live X-Ray imaging), to the exact location for maximum pain relief. After the physician has confirmed the correct placement of the needle, a corticosteroid along with a local anesthetic pain medication, is injected into the needle.
The corticosteroid is used to minimize swelling and inflammation in the epidural space, taking pressure off the nerves and soft tissues which provides pain relief over time. The anesthetic pain medication provides immediate relief and flushes out inflammatory proteins that may worsen pain.
While receiving the injection, you may experience a tingling or mild burning sensation or the feeling of pressure as the medication enters the epidural space. This feeling will leave after the injection is complete. After the procedure you may be monitored for about a half hour after and are not permitted to do any strenuous activities the same day. However, after that you are free to go about your normal routine.
What to Expect After an Epidural Injection
Some patients in our Dallas clinic are treated with an epidural alone for their sciatic pain, however for others an epidural for pain is not enough. For those patients, we set them up with a treatment plan that includes physical therapy. The relief experienced from an epidural can last anywhere from weeks to a year depending on the patient and the pain they are experiencing.
If you find yourself experiencing lower back pain that radiates down your buttock into your leg, seek treatment from your local Dallas pain management specialist. Sciatica is not something that anyone should have to have to suffer with. The Arthritis Pain Institute is here to help you develop a plan to get you back to living your best pain free life. Give us a call today to see if Epidural Steroid Injections could be a good option to treat your sciatic pain, (972) 945-0785.
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