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Are you suffering from lower back pain and feel like there’s no hope? Or do you feel like surgery is your only option?

When inflamed spinal nerves wreak havoc on the body, causing back pain and the debilitating symptoms of sciatica, Epidural Steroid Injections can help. Our Red Bank, NJ pain management office makes it easy to find Epidural Steroid Injections (we administer them in our office) as well as every other form of rehabilitation that may be needed, including physical therapy, chiropractors, and acupuncture.

Epidural Steroid Injections may be used for any of these conditions (among others):

• Lower Back Pain
• Arthritis
• Auto Accident Injury
• Degenerative Disc Disease
• Disc Injury
• Leg Pain
• Back Pain
• Numbness and/or Tingling
• Spinal Stenosis
• Sports Trauma

As a group of medical doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, and acupuncturists, we take a lot of pride in the fact that our office is at the forefront of the very latest and best in pain management. Our goal is help patients find real relief from pain without surgery. In many cases, surgery for lower back pain is both unnecessary and ineffective (more on this subject, below). However, some patients feel trapped and immobilized by severe pain—and surgery appears to be the best possible option.

Instead, as part of a thoughtful, conservative plan of rehabilitation, Epidural Steroid Injections can help patients find relief from pain without surgery. More than that, many patients using Epidural Steroid Injections for pain relief also find that they are better able to participate in programs of rehabilitation. By using physical therapy, chiropractic, etc. to correct the causes of pain, many conditions that cause low back pain and sciatica can be relieved.

Understanding Epidural Steroid Injections and How They Work

An Epidural Steroid Injection provides very serious pain relief by reducing the painful inflammation that is irritating or compressing the spinal nerves. It does so through the injection of a long-last steroid (a corticosteroid, or cortisone) in the epidural space—the area that is the outermost part of the spinal canal.

This epidural space surrounds the dural sac, which provides cushioning for the nerves and for the spinal cord; when steroid medication is injected in this area, it provides a calming, pain-relieving effect. In addition to resolving pain, Epidural Steroid Injections address other symptoms of sciatica, including numbness/tingling; the sensation of ‘shooting’ pains in the leg; or weakness in the leg.

An anesthetic numbing agent may be used to provide immediate results. For some patients, this type of local numbing agent and/or saline may be also be used in order to remove inflammatory mediators—substances released by the immune system (prostaglandin or leukotrienes, for example)—that may be promoting pain and other symptoms.

Epidural Steroid Injections do not require anesthesia and as such are performed directly in our Monmouth County rehabilitation office. Because our medical doctors are specialists in this type of interventional procedure, they are able to use techniques to minimize or eliminate pain during the procedure itself

Better Imaging Technology for Accurate Injections and Serious Results

Epidural Steroid Injections are performed with precision using Fluoroscopic imaging technology. Our in-office Fluoroscopy suite allows our physicians to view the structure, size, and shape of the musculoskeletal system in real time. This allows for extremely accurate diagnoses and for precise and effective Epidural Steroid Injections.

Epidural Steroid Injections allow patients to regain lost mobility and begin to heal. As mentioned above, many lower back pain patients are able to rehabilitate the right way—using physical therapy and chiropractic—thanks to the pain-relieving effects of Epidural Steroid Injections.

For diagnostic purposes, our office also provides Electrodiagnostic Nerve Testing, traditional X-Ray, and Ultrasound.

Why is it Important to Avoid Surgery for Back Pain Whenever Possible?

There is no question that surgeries for back pain—including lower back pain—are being performed more now than ever before. In fact, a study completed by Medicare found that the number of Medicare patients receiving surgery for back pain increased by 1400 percent in a short five year period (between 2002 and 2007).

One theory behind the spike in such procedures may be that back surgery options have improved. Unfortunately, however, the World Orthopaedic Organisation has reported a 53% rate of failure for lower back pain surgeries. In fact, surgery for back pain fails so often that the medical community has coined the phrase ‘Failed Back Surgery Syndrome’ (FBSS) for the symptoms experienced by post-operative patients.

FBSS is a condition characterized by chronic pain, a much more difficult condition from which to rehabilitate. Patients with FBSS experience an achy, dull, and relentless pain in the back and legs.

Additionally, the very nature of any type of surgery is traumatic to the body, and each procedure has its own dangers. Spinal fusion surgery, for example, may lead to infection, delayed paralysis, damaged nerves, and the omnipresent dangers that are associated with anesthesia in general.

Reducing Harmful Drug Use with Epidural Steroid Injections

When it comes to analgesic medication of any kind, there can be no ambiguity that long-term use can and will cause serious physical consequences. Painkilling drugs can provide very welcome and instant relief to suffering patients; they are meant to be used as a short-term method of relieving pain and can be a great benefit to patients with acute pain.

However, when this benefit is abused, the ramifications can be dire. Abuse isn’t necessarily defined as taking too much medication or the illegal use of drugs—abuse can also be the long-term use of a drug that was meant to be used as a temporary solution.

Analgesics include NSAIDs such as aspirin and ibuprofen; acetaminophen; and opioid painkillers (including oxycodone, hydrocodone, ect.).

Acetaminophen is particularly noted for posing a threat to the liver. Because it is also found in other medications (Percocet, for example) and is an over-the-counter drug, some patients mistakenly take more acetaminophen than recommended. Overall, however, most patients severely underestimate the liver damage that can be incurred through the use of acetaminophen simply because it is so easy to obtain.

Both prescription and over-the-counter drugs can lead to the above-mentioned liver damage as well as damage to the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. Opioid medications increase the risk of bone fractures in older patients and leave all patients vulnerable to the dangers of psychological and physical addiction.

Epidural Steroid Injections can provide localized pain relief that allows patients to be less reliant on analgesic medications while freeing up the body to begin the healing process.

Epidural Steroid Injections in Monmouth County, NJ

Epidural Steroid Injections can be a crucial element in healthy, conservative, and effective programs of rehabilitation. Very generally, they accomplish the following goals:

• Relieve serious and debilitating/immobilizing pain;

• Begin the healing process by allowing for movement and rehabilitation (physical therapy);

• Reduce the need for surgery; and

• Help patients to steer clear of the serious consequences of long-term drug use for pain relief.

Interventional Pain Management at Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation

Our office provides a number of interventional procedures—such as Epidural Steroid Injections, Trigger Point Injections, and Facet Joint Injections—in order to help patients who are suffering from pain and other debilitating symptoms.

Trigger Point Injections, for example, may be used to relieve painful trigger points, severely painful areas of muscle. Muscles should be able to contract and relax as normal. When this ability is hampered due to injury or stress, a tight band of muscle—a trigger point—may develop. Chronic muscle pain is known as myofascial pain. This is the type of pain experienced by Fibromyalgia patients, although myofascial pain is certainly not unique to Fibromyalgia sufferers. It is a common experience that generally resolves on its own or through massage therapy or other practices. When such pain does not resolve, the use of a Trigger Point Injection may be warranted.

The facet joints are the joints of the spine. There are several conditions that commonly cause issues within the facet joints; arthritis, of course, is the main offender when it comes to back pain related to the facet joints. Facet Joint Injections are used both for providing pain relief, but also for diagnostic purposes.

Certain patients suffer from lower back pain related to the sacroiliac joint, the joint located between the lower part of the spine and the pelvic bones. Sacroiliac Joint Injections may benefit such patients. Others require Coccyx Injections, which are geared toward pain that originates from the tailbone.

Other interventional pain management techniques provided at Monmouth pain include Peripheral Joint Injections and Sympathetic Blocks. Furthermore, Viscosupplementation has proven to be helpful for patients with knee pain. Our physicians are also affiliated with several local medical centers in order to perform procedures that require anesthesia, such as Radiofrequency Ablation or Discograms.

For a full list of our offerings, please visit this link.

If you are suffering from back pain or any other painful condition in Monmouth County, feel free to contact us for an evaluation by clicking this link (for a free, in-office evaluation), or by calling our Red Bank rehabilitation office at 732.345.1377.