When an Epidural Injection is the Best Choice for That Chronic Aching Back

When surveyed, about 65 million women and men in the United States say they’ve had a recent episode of back pain. Approximately 16 million (i.e., 8%) of all adults experience chronic back pain that limits their lives. Back pain is a leading cause of work-loss days — about 82 million per year.

Not surprisingly, chronic back pain brings other problems, too. The unrelenting pain may make you feel depressed and even worthless. Approximately 72% of back pain sufferers say that negative, hopeless feelings about their pain interferes with their lives. 

Nerve blocks around the spine — known as epidurals — offer relief from back pain. When combined with other therapies, epidurals can help you literally get back on your feet, pain-free.

At Gorman Medical, PC — with locations in Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek, Colorado — Charles Ripp, MD, Fran Gorman, DNP, and our expert team work to find the source of your back pain. With lifestyle interventions and medications, including epidurals, they help your back heal so you can move without pain.

Would an epidural work for your aching back? Following are situations where it might. 

You’ve suffered for at least 3 months

When your back pain has been moderate to severe for at least three months, you have chronic back pain. Chronic back pain, including cases where the cause is unclear, responds well to epidurals.

With an epidural, your provider injects a steroid into the nerve-filled epidural space that lies between your spinal cord and the vertebrae that surround it. The steroid resolves inflammation and swelling to relieve pressure on your nerves. Conditions that respond well to epidural injections include:

• Irritated spinal nerves
• Herniated disc
• Back pain that spreads to arms 
• Postsurgical pain
• Spinal stenosis
• Sciatica
• Spondylolisthesis
• Neck pain

Because epidural injections last for months at a time, we don’t recommend them for acute cases of back pain, such as wrenching your back. Acute cases may be controlled with rest, pain medication, and supportive therapies, such as massage. If acute pain develops into chronic pain, however, an epidural can help.

Nothing else has worked

When you first developed back pain, you probably reached for an over-the-counter painkiller. If that didn’t work, you may have begun a long journey to find relief.

Ideally, the first-line treatments for back pain are lifestyle changes that help ease stress on your back and nourish the tissues that support it. Your provider may advise:

• Losing weight
• Eating a whole foods diet
• Exercising more
• Physical therapy
• Chiropractic care
• Massage
• Avoiding manual labor
• Quitting smoking

Even if these interventions and changes helped somewhat, your pain may prevent you from getting their full benefit. For instance, if you’re in chronic pain, it’s difficult to exercise. Physical therapy may be excruciating, too.

You don’t want surgery

We never recommend surgery if other alternatives exist. All surgery causes trauma to the body that has the potential to cause more pain.

An epidural can give you long-term relief from your pain so that other healing modalities have time to work. By avoiding surgery, you give your back the chance to heal itself over time, with support and physical therapy.

You’re in good general health

Although epidural injections are relatively safe, not everyone should undergo the procedure. We don’t recommend epidurals if you have:

• Poorly controlled diabetes
• Blood clotting issues
• Anesthesia allergies
• An infection
• Allergies to contrast dye

We give you pre-injection instructions so that you know what to expect on the day of your epidural.

You need relief

An epidural injection takes anywhere from a few hours to seven days before you feel its full effects. Many people experience pain relief for up to three months at a time.

Do you want to have an improved quality of life and get back to your normal activities? Contact our team about epidural injections for chronic back pain by phone or convenient online form today.