Epidurals & Facet Injections
Epidurals and facet injections are advanced spinal injection techniques for pain management. Fluoroscopy is required when receiving these injections and steroids are universally used.
There are three types of epidural steroid injections: transforaminal, interlaminar, and caudal. They all involve the deposition of corticosteroids into the space over the dura mater in the spinal cord and are used for a variety of conditions from sciatica to stenosis to child birth.
Facets are the name commonly applies to the zygapophyseal joints in the spine. These are synovial joints between the vertebrae in the spine and are susceptible to degeneration and inflammation like any other joint in the body. Facet joints are one of the most common causes of chronic low back pain.
Fluoroscopy is a type of medical imaging that shows a continuous X-ray image on a monitor, much like an X-ray movie. It typically involves more radiation than a typical chest X-ray but less than a CAT scan (CT).
Yes. Usually you can drive following injections. No sedation is used in our procedures. Sometimes a patient can be light headed following a procedure in which case we just have them rest for 10-15 minutes. By then they are usually Ok to drive.
There are no studies delineating a max dose or max number of injection of corticosteroids. The issues come with too much volume (dose) in too short of a time for follow-up injections. Your Surfside physician takes great care in monitoring your dose, frequency, and side effects to give you the best care as safely as possible.
X-radiation can accumulate over a lifetime so the younger you are the greatest overall risk. Great care is taken to limit exposure and do only what is medically necessary.
It is exceedingly rare but if you are on blood thinners and don’t stop them before an epidural injection a hematoma can develop which is a medical emergency because it can result in paralysis.