Epidural & Facet Joint Injections Fort Lauderdale
Strategic Back Pain Management
Back pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints among adults in the U.S. This issue can destroy your quality of life and make it nearly impossible to carry out basic tasks. What can you do to manage it? While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the team at the Institute for Non-Surgical Orthopedics of Fort Lauderdale offers some strategic treatments that may bring relief, including epidural and facet joint injections.
What Are Epidural Injections?
An epidural steroid injection, also called an ESI, is a treatment wherein we carefully deliver a steroid medication into the space around the spinal nerves, which is known as the epidural space. The steroid has powerful anti-inflammatory properties, meaning that it can reduce the agony of inflamed, irritated, and compressed nerves. (While an ESI does not actually “unpinch” a compressed nerve, it can still bring significant pain relief.)
In addition to treating pinched nerves, ESIs may also be a suitable way to reduce the pain associated with osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, and herniated discs.
The duration of results from an ESI can vary from patient to patient. Some experience relief that lasts for a few weeks or months. Others notice results that last for up to an entire year.
What Are Facet Joint Injections?
Your facet joints are the small joints in your spine that allow it to move. Because nerve roots travel through the facet joints, they can cause great pain when the surrounding tissues are irritated, damaged, or inflamed.
To relieve that pain, we may recommend facet joint injections. We simply administer a local anesthetic into the joints. This can relieve the pain of arthritis and help to treat facet joint syndrome.
Generally speaking, the results of facet joint injections can last for a few weeks to several months, with some patients experiencing even longer-lasting pain relief.
Which Type of Injection Is Right for Me?
Epidural injections and facet joint injections can both be effective solutions for back pain, but they are not used interchangeably. The one that is best for you will depend on the nature and origin of your pain. We will need to examine you before we can recommend any specific treatment
Essentially, if we determine that your pain is related to your facet joints, we are likely to recommend facet joint injections. In contrast, an epidural injection may be more suited to other conditions, such as inflammation or compressed nerves. Some patients have complex back pain that could benefit from both types of injections.
Injections can be an effective way to reduce back pain! Get in touch with our Fort Lauderdale office today to learn more about your treatment options.
