Advancements in medicine and technology have made it possible for pain specialists to offer minimally invasive pain treatments, also known as interventional pain management. Therapeutic injections have proven highly effective in chronic pain relief. Injections are used to send powerful medication, such as steroids, onto or near your nerves to relieve pain.Epidural Steroid Injections
The epidural space is the space surrounding the membrane that covers the spinal cord and nerve roots. Disorders such as spinal stenosis and herniated disc can cause nerve irritation, inflammation and pain.
Epidural steroid injection is used to send pills, such as steroids, directly to the nerve roots that are inflamed in the cervical, thoracic or lumbar spine.
Joint Injections
Several pains can be relieved with just a single injection steroid injection. It helps to provide relief in pain due to arthritis in joints like the knees and elbows. Arthritis causes cartilage in the joints to wear away, causing inflammation, swelling and pain.
Corticosteroid Injections helps to treat certain inflammation of your joint or tendons. These injections are especially advantageous because they also help you to get relief from rheumatoid arthritis as well as allergic reactions that can commonly cause joint pains.
Sacroiliac Joint Injection
The sacroiliac joint is the largest joint of the body. It is located in the lower spine above the tailbone. Inflammation in the sacroiliac joint can cause low back and buttock pain. An injection of an anesthetic and steroid can help relieve sacroiliac joint pain.
Selective Nerve Root Blocks
If a nerve root is compressed or inflamed due to a degenerated or herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or other degenerative spinal changes, neck pain can radiate down into the shoulders, arms, and hands.
Cervical selective nerve root block, or SNRB, is an injection used to identify the source of nerve pain in the neck and provide longer-term pain relief.
Facet Joint Injections
Facet joints are small joints between the vertebrae in the spine that provide stability and guide motion. In arthritis patients and cases of injury, trauma or stress to the spine, the facet joints become painful.
A cervical, thoracic or lumbar facet joint injection involves injecting a small amount of local anesthetic (numbing agent) and/or steroid tablets, which can anesthetize the facet joints and block the pain.
Two types of medication is typically injected using therapeutic injections –
• A local anesthetic (usually lidocaine or bupivacaine) is injected to determine immediate pain relief the source of the patient's pain. This works as a diagnostic injection too.
• An anti-inflammatory medicine, usually a corticosteroid, to reduce inflammation which in turn can relieve pain over a long period of time. This works as a therapeutic injection.
If you wish to consult experienced pain management doctors in Gilbert and Chandler, AZ at Desert Interventional Spine Consultants at 480-838-1914. DISC is committed to providing the highest quality spine care with cutting edge interventional pain treatments and precise diagnostic tests.