Pain control is prescribed by your doctor when other treatments have not satisfactorily controlled pain. A local anesthetic is used to numb the skin and muscles, and then you will receive 4-6 injections of medication. X-ray and iodine dye are used to ensure correct needle placement. Two medications are given, a steroid anti-inflammatory medication and a local anesthetic. This is not surgery, and no tissue is removed. These injections may be repeated up to three times per year if necessary.
One of the most common spinal injections is the lumbar epidural steroid injection. This is useful for pain that radiates from the lower back into a leg, this can be caused by disc herniation or spinal stenosis (narrowing around nerves) which triggers nerve root irritation. Other injections can be very useful in the cervical spine, where the symptoms will extend into the arms. Thoracic epidural steroid injections are commonly used to reduce the pain associated with herpes zoster (shingles).
The facet joints of the spine can also cause pain. Injections into the facet joints or blocks of the nerves that go to the facets can often be very helpful with these pains. This problem is more common in the lumbar spine, but can also occur in the neck.