Is There Any Risk To Epidural Steroid Injection
Although the procedure and the fluid are considered safe by physicians, some risks include inflammation of the spinal cord lining, damage, meningitis, paralysis, or nerve injury.
Other less common risks include headaches, dizziness, back pain, incontinence, urinary retention, increased pain, vomiting, facial flushing, or discomfort at the injection site.
This Brings Us To Another Interesting Point: Delay Of Treatment Any Treatment
We started talking about delays in treatment. Researchers at Penn State University writing in the medical journal Clinical Spine Surgery sought out to determine what factors could or could not predict which patients would benefit most from caudal epidural steroid injections in managing chronic low back pain and radiculopathy.
Among the findings:
- The duration of the patients symptoms was found to be negatively significantly related to lesser pain improvement.
- For each week of the duration of symptoms, the percentage of improvement decreases.
The longer the patient waited for treatment, the less likely the caudal epidural steroid injections would work.
Sciatica Relief Length Varies
Every patient is different, which means how they react to epidural steroid injections for sciatica differ as well. While some patients respond very well, others experience little to no relief. This is why its important to consult with your doctor to determine if your sciatica pain could be lessened, even temporarily, with epidural steroid injections.
Depending on the patient, injections can last anywhere from a week to a year. However, you shouldnt have steroid injections too frequently in the same area to prevent damage to the nerves and surrounding tissues.
If you experience pain relief in your lower back and legs, your doctor will determine the best schedule to maintain relief without any dangerous side effects.
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Should I Get An Epidural Steroid Injection After My Injury
Epidural steroid injections are recommended by doctors after an injury in order to reduce pain and discomfort. Steroids are ideal when it comes to damping down inflammation in the body, which has been shown to co-exist hand in hand with chronic pain. Epidural steroid injections, especially those administered in the back or neck are done in three injections spaced out over a period of a couple of week. The steroid goes into the damaged nerve tissue and goes to work at getting rid of the proteins that are thought to be responsible for inflammation. It is important to note here that epidural steroid injections do not heal injuries they only take away your pain and make it possible for you to resume a normal life in as little time as possible.
An Alternative To Epidural Steroid Injections Is Prolotherapy For Back Pain
In this image, the caption reads Prolotherapy to the lower back. Injured capsular, sacroiliac, and other ligaments can be thickened and strengthened with Prolotherapy
Temporary pain relief is not what pain patients should be seeking. Permanent healing and pain relief should be the goal. Maybe pain patients dont believe there is a cure for their pain, so they seek as many pain relief options as possible. The problem is that many pain relief treatments include steroids and anti-inflammatory agents that can make the injury even worse. As the injury gets worse, a person is forced to look for stronger and more complex pain relief. Its a vicious cycle.
In 2013, doctors at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem began recruiting patients to test the long-term effects of epidural steroid injection versus Prolotherapy in patients with low back pain. Registered with the US National Institutes of Health US Library of Medicine, the Israeli doctors hypothesis is that in the treatment of low back pain radiating to the leg, the long-term results of prolotherapy are more effective than those of the current conventional treatment: epidural steroid injections . This research is expected to be published in 2022.
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Graciano V Blue Sky Logistics Llc
Another example is the more recent Graciano v. Blue Sky Logistics, LLC in 2019. In this instance, Graciano was driving a tractor when another driver, Michael Daniels, struck Gracianos vehicle under the employ of Blue Sky Logistics, LLC. As a result, Graciano suffered injuries to his C6 and C7 discs and sought injections to treat the pain.
The injuries were severe, and Graciano was able to hire a personal injury lawyer and file a claim against Daniels employer. Unlike the previous lawsuit, a judge decided on this case since a business was responsible.
When the smoke cleared, Graciano was awarded $116,898.00 in compensatory damages for the defendants negligence.
More Than One Out Of Every Four Patients Undergoing Epidural Steroid Injections For Lumbar Herniation Or Stenosis Subsequently Had Surgery And Nearly One Of Six Had Surgery Within The First Year
Lumbosacral epidural steroid injections have increased dramatically despite a narrowing of the clinical indications for use. One potential indication is to avoid or delay surgery, yet little information exists regarding surgery rates after epidural steroid injections.
What the researchers then intended to figure out was the proportion of patients having surgery after lumbar epidural steroid injections for disc herniation or stenosis and to identify the timing and factors associated with this progression. The study was comprised of 179,025 patients
- Within 6 months, 12.5% of epidural steroid injections patients underwent lumbar surgery.
- Patients with herniation had surgery at rates of up to five-fold to seven-fold higher, with the highest rates of surgery in younger patients and those with both herniation and stenosis.
- Medical comorbidities were associated with lower surgery rates. .
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Side Effect Of Facet Joint Injection
Facet joint injections are completely safe in most cases, you will only experience some mild numbness for a few hours after the procedure. This is normal because of the anesthetic influence. In extremely rare cases, you may also experience side effects like bleeding, nerve injury, or infections you can avoid these by going to a good interventional pain physician.
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What Complications Can Happen
Some complications can be serious and can even cause death.
- failure of the epidural
- allergic reaction to the equipment, materials or medication
- temporary leg or arm weakness
- unexpected high block, if the local anaesthetic spreads beyond the intended area
- infection around your spine
- visual disturbance or loss of vision
- long-term nerve injury
- blood clot around your spine
Broderick Mouton V United States
Government cases are always more challenging than ordinary citizen to citizen car accident collisions. Finally, another case that took place a mere two years ago in 2020 was the case of Broderick Mouton v. United States of America. In this case, the plaintiff was struck by a motor vehicle operated and owned by the Federal Aviation Administration .
In Moutons case, he suffered a severe and painful soft-tissue cervical spine injury aggravated by a previous disc injury. At the same time, Mouton used injections to handle the immediate pain and testified that he would need surgery down the line. The FAA countered the claim, but the verdict awarded Mouton a $169,756.00 settlement at the end of the day.
Injections as a medical treatment are effective for both recovery and cementing your claim as serious. Several successful personal injury claims involved victims who sought the use of epidural steroid injections to tend to their pain.
So, if you are wondering if such treatments could cost you in terms of settlement or if they will backfire on your claim, know that they have a proven track record of successful legal benefits.
As always, we recommend that anyone in a car accident that was not their fault contact a car accident attorney and law firm for legal advice. Hiring an attorney is a winning strategy compared to negotiating with the insurance adjuster yourself.
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Epidural Steroid Injection Risks
While the injections are deemed relatively safe, some risks may occur, including an inflammation of the lining of the spinal cord, meningitis, damage to the spinal cord, nerve injury and/or paralysis. Some rarer but serious risks may include headaches, back pain, dizziness, urinary retention, incontinence, facial flushing, increased pain, vomiting or pain at the injection site.
Preparing For An Epidural Injection
Your doctor will explain how to prepare for your procedure. You’ll need to go into hospital to have an epidural injection from a pain specialist or spinal surgeon. You’ll usually have the injection and go home later the same day. Make sure that you arrange for someone to drive you home, and preferably stay with you overnight.
You may be asked to stop eating and drinking for several hours before having an epidural injection. Youll usually still be allowed to have clear fluids up to a couple of hours beforehand. Follow any instructions given to you by your doctor.
Tell your doctor about any medications youre on. If youre taking any medicines, particularly blood thinning medicines, you may be asked to stop taking these for a few days before the procedure. Never stop any medication unless your doctor tells you to.
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How Much Does An Epidural Steroid Injection Cost
The average cost of an epidural steroid injection will all depend on your health insurance, your geographical location, the provider and the facility where its performed. Without insurance, the averages, from prices previous patients shared online, ranged anywhere from $780 to more than $1,900 for just the epidural steroid injection. If a contrast dye is administered during the procedure, this can increase the costs as well.
In some cases, your doctor may want to confirm your back pain with a CT scan, MRI and/or x-ray to see if the injections may work for your circumstances. If this were the case, then you would have to budget for these procedures before the injections are even considered.
At MDSave.com, for instance, the providers listed on their website averaged $909 for the procedure.
Art Caplan, Ph.d. at NBC News noted the average epidural steroid injection can cost $600 per shot.
According to BottomLineINC.com, the average injection can cost anywhere between $600 and $2,500 each and will not be helpful for back pain caused by muscle spasms. They also mention most medical professionals discourage these injections unless you had symptoms for more than six weeks.
Is An Epidural Injection Cost Effective
Since your lumbar epidural steroid injection cost is most likely covered by insurance, the answer is yes! Your back and leg pain shouldnt be put on hold due to financial concerns. Our team of friendly medical office assistants are well-versed in insurance claims, and know how much a proper back pain procedure can change your life. They go above and beyond to make sure that your wallet isnt in as much pain as your back.
Schedule an appointment at Pain Treatment Specialists and tame your sciatica pain. Our nationally recognized back pain specialists look forward to providing all of our patients with the highest level of care for their chronic back pain.
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The Effect Of Repeat Epidural Steroid Injections
Here is a recent study. Lets look at the list of leading universities who participated in this study: University of Washington, Oregon Health and Science University, Brigham and Womens Hospital and Spine Unit, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, University of Texas, Stanford University Medical Center, University of Colorado, the University of Pittsburgh, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, and lets add the Mayo Clinic, Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. Clearly, there is a lot of knowledge behind this research.
This study, published in the journal Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, August 2017, and led by the University of Washingtons Comparative Effectiveness, Cost and Outcomes Research Center, doctors made these observations concerning the overall long-term effectiveness of treatment with epidural corticosteroid injections for lumbar central spinal stenosis and the effect of repeat injections, including crossover injections of lidocaine alone, on outcomes through 12 months.
Epidural Steroid Injection Cost Without Insurance
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How About Evidence That The Epidurals Are Only Masking Pain And Could Be Making Your Situation Worse Research: Pain Relief Was Not Reflected In A Significant Immediate Improvement In Motor Performance Pain Relief Did Not Fix Your Structural Problems
For many people, the goal is pain relief. Whatever way this can be achieved is seen as a necessary outcome. But are you only masking a worsening situation?
Here is a piece of research from doctors at the University of Arizona that makes a very good point that the only best use of epidural steroid injection is to provide pain relief until spinal surgery can be performed. It was published in 2016 in the journal Clinical Biomechanics.
The researchers looked at people with degenerative facet arthritis who were treated with medial or intermediate branch nerve block injection.
Then they asked these people about their pain and measured these people with standardized scoring systems for a health condition, disability, objective motor performance measures at pre-surgery, immediately after the injection, one-month, three-month, and 12-month follow-ups.
- Results showed that average pain and disability scores improved by 51% and 24%, respectively among patients, only one month after injection.
- Similarly, improvement in motor performance was most noticeable in one-month post-injection measurements most improvements were observed in gait speed and hip sway within balance tests, and turning velocity within the timed-up-and-go test.
Interpretations of study:
The next part the researchers found interesting and so did we.
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What Are Epidural Injections
An epidural injection contains a steroid medicine, usually together with a local anaesthetic. These injections are also called epidural steroid injections. The liquid is injected into a gap called the epidural space, which surrounds your spinal cord. The steroid reduces inflammation around your spinal cord, while the local anaesthetic provides faster pain relief.
The injections can be given at different points along your back. An injection in your lower back is called a lumbar epidural. There are different techniques for giving epidural injections for lower back and leg pain:
- interlaminar this is given between two of your vertebrae
- transforaminal this is an injection into the side of your spine
- caudal this is given through an opening at the base of your spine
The Epidural Injection Is A Way To Relieve Pain
Epidural steroid injection is an effective technique for pain management. It does not require any surgical procedure because it is simply an injection of local anesthetic administered into the spine.
It is a way to reduce inflammation in the spine, is effective for pain, and is used in some treatments for conditions such as spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, or herniated disc.
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Are There Alternatives To Cortisone Shots
A doctor may be able to recommend alternative treatments for your condition. For some issues like chronic knee pain, surgery may be the best option.
Platelet-rich plasma injection is an experimental treatment that may help you manage joint pain. More research is needed to understand their potential benefit.
Hyaluronic injections are also sometimes used to treat knee pain when cortisone shots arent effective.
Serious side effects are uncommon, but you should let a doctor know if you experience anything out of the ordinary, such as:
- changes in skin color around the injection site
Its also a good idea to let a doctor know if you havent noticed any improvements so that they can modify or change your treatment.
Seek emergency medical attention if you experience concerning symptoms such as:
Can I Call A Lawyer To Get An Estimated Settlement Amount For My Claim
Our lawyers get calls almost every day asking for the expected settlement amount for their claim. I wish it was that easy. But you determine settlement compensation by reading the medical records, considering how the injury impacted the client, the jurisdiction, the insurance policies, the insurance company, and a host of other factors. If you call a lawyer to ask the settlement value of your case, you will get a useless answer.
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