|
| |
Things You Should Know About
Epidural Steroids
Important
- It is required that the patient make arrangements
for someone to drive he or she home following the procedure.
- Local anesthetic medication that is injected may
cause some mild, temporary (2 to 3 hours) weakness or numbness in the
patient's extremities making their driving unsafe.
- If the patient is taking blood thinners or
diabetic medication please see section (Click on the hyperlink below)
concerning:
PATIENTS
WHO ARE DIABETIC OR TAKING BLOOD THINNERS
General Information:
- The injection is generally an outpatient
procedure.
- Patients with herniated disk, radiculopathy,
spinal stenosis, compression fractures of vertebra, or other types of back
or neck pain are usually acceptable candidates.
- The less time the patient has had the pain
improves the possibility of good results.
- Pain is often decreased to a tolerable level or
sometimes completely relieved.
- A small percentage of patients are not helped by
this procedure.
Type of Procedure:
- An Epidural Steroid Injection is placement of
medication into the epidural space in the area of the spine
- The epidural space lies just outside the fluid
filled sac where the spinal cord and spinal nerves are located.
- Medication injected into this space coats the
nerves as they pass out of the spine and to other parts of the body.
- Medication is not injected into the spinal cord
or spinal fluid.
Preparation Prior to the Procedure:
- The patient should not eat or drink anything for at least 6 hours before the scheduled
procedure time.
- If the patient is not scheduled until the
afternoon, a light breakfast at least 6 hours prior to the procedure is
encouraged.
- Small sips of water may be used to take routine
medications.
Length of Procedure:
- The procedure, itself, will only take a few
minutes.
- However, the patient will need to allow 1.5 to 2
hours total time.
- This time includes registration, physician
consultation, examination, the procedure, and recovery time (Nursing Staff
Observation).
Recovery Time:
- Immediately following the procedure, the patient
will be asked to lie flat or on one side for approximately 20 to 30 minutes.
- Following this the patient will be discharged if
their vital signs are stable and the patient is able to ambulate.
- The patient must NOT drive for at least 8 hours
or longer if giving other instructions by the Pain Treatment Center Staff.
- When the patient arrives home, the patient is to
"take it easy" for the remainder of the day and evening.
- It is not necessary to "lie flat" or go
to bed unless instructed to do so by the Pain Treatment Center Staff.
- The next day the patient may resume their activities
depending on how they feel.
- The patient should avoid activities that will put a
strain on the spine.
Time for Results:
- Long acting, anti-inflammatory drugs such as
cortisone are used.
- It may take from 2 to 5 days before the initial
effect of the medication is felt and 5 to 7 days before the maximum benefit
is obtained.
- A local anesthetic drug may be used in
combination with the cortisone. This may help to relieve the pain
immediately, but usually lasts only 1 to 3 hours.
- These injections are usually done in a series of
three. There is usually a 14 to 21 day interval between injections.
- At the time of the patient's second and
third injection, the pain physician will decide if further injections are warranted.
|
