Relieve Chronic Pain with Orange County Pain Clinics.
The experienced staff at Orange County Pain Clinics works hard to provide a range of treatments for our patients, including minimally invasive techniques and fast acting pain relief injections such as epidural treatments.
To find out more, contact our office today.
What can I expect from a consultation?
To determine if an epidural treatment for back pain in Orange County is best for you, it is important to start with a consultation. During this appointment, your pain doctor will ask you questions about the pain that you experience, such as its severity, its origin, and which activities make it feel worse or better. In some cases, further diagnostic tests might be necessary to get a full picture of your condition. Once you and your doctor decide on the best method of treatment, your doctor will give you an idea of what you can realistically expect to experience.
How does an epidural back injection work?
Epidural injections are actually very straightforward and simple. They target lower back pain through the epidural space, an area outside the sac of fluid that surrounds the base of your spinal cord. An epidural injection will deliver anti-inflammatory medication right to this area, which provides pain relief very quickly.
If you have any questions about epidural treatments for back pain in Orange County, you should talk to your chronic doctor. Your doctor will be able to explain in detail how the epidural injection will work in your particular situation, and with your specific type of pain.
Which conditions are helped with an epidural treatment?
Your spine care doctor might recommend an epidural treatment for back pain in Orange County if you have not responded to other methods for pain relief, such as physical therapy or chiropractic care. Epidural injections are often helpful if you have pain that radiates from your lower back to your hips, or down one or both of your legs. This type of pain is often characterized by a bulging disc. Additionally, epidural injections can help pain that is a result of spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spine) or radiculopathy (inflammation or damage to a nerve in your lower back). If you are wondering whether or not your back pain can be helped by an epidural injection, talk to your chronic pain doctor about your options.
What can I expect from an epidural treatment?
You might be wondering what epidural treatment for back pain in Orange County entails, and if the treatment is painful. Fortunately, an anesthetic is used to numb the area on your back after your skin is cleaned. While you are lying face down, your doctor will insert a needle in your skin and direct it toward your spine. With the use of fluoroscopy technology, which utilizes a machine with live x-ray video, your doctor will be able to move the needle between the bones in your spine and to the correct place. A contrast dye will be used to demonstrate that the needle is correctly in the epidural space. Once your doctor has confirmed that everything is where it should be, he will inject the corticosteroid medication into your spine.
You will begin to feel pain relief almost immediately, and the anesthetic you received before means that the injection likely will not be painful. However, you can expect the injection site to be tender for a few days following your epidural treatment.
