Injections of steroids are frequently used to relieve pain in a specific location. Instead of using over the counter pain medication that floods your entire system with medication, steroid injections can treat the pain and swelling directly at the source. They are also used for diagnosis -- our doctors may inject a small amount of steroids to determine if the correct source of pain has been identified.
Our perform two types of steroid injections: epidural and intraarticular. Epidural injections are given into the spine, such as to treat or diagnose herniated discs. Intraarticular injections are given into joints, to diagnose or treat facet arthopathy or sacroiliac joint pain.
These injections are needle-based procedures in which our doctors use fluoroscopy (x-ray guidance) to ensure that the steroids are delivered to the precise location that is causing your pain.
Steroid injections can provide pain relief for up to a year, allowing you to proceed with rehabilitation programs that will help you return to an active and pain-free life.
This is an outpatient procedure performed at our free-standing facility. It requires no stitches, no general anesthesia, and it has a very quick recovery time. Most people experience complete pain relief immediately after the procedure, others report that their pain was gone or significantly reduced within 48 hours.