Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) for the management of lumbar radicular pain provide the advantage of delivering potent anti-inflammatory agents in a localized fashion to the area of affected nerve roots, thereby decreasing the systemic side effects often seen with orally administered steroids. Lumbar ESIs have been endorsed by the North American Spine Society (2) and […]
Category Archives: Spinal Injection
Spinal pain, especially low back pain (5% incidence and 60% to 80% lifetime prevalence in the United States), is very common (1). Low back pain is the leading cause of disability in people younger than 45 years. Although spinal pain often improves and resolves, a significant proportion of patients have ongoing symptoms and pain recurrence. Low back pain is a costly disorder with an annual cost approaching $50 billion (1). Therefore, a comprehensive rehabilitation approach that improves outcomes for patients with spinal pain can have a significant positive medical and economic impact. Adequate pain control can minimize disability, maximize function, improve quality of life, and potentially improve long-term outcomes by preventing the development of chronic pain syndromes. Spinal injection procedures have become an integral part of comprehensive rehabilitative management for individuals with spinal pain. Judicious use of these interventional procedures on carefully selected patients can provide optimal pain control, reduce disability, and improve functional outcome. This chapter is intended to discuss common spinal interventional procedures in an evidence-based manner and provide some instruction on performance of these procedures.
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