anyone? have been on a long road through back pain (L1 fracture) and after deciding against spinal fusion, the doctor has also offered the shots (im assuming the epidural or cortisone)… anyone had these? how painful and/or effective are they?
I’ve had plenty of steroid facet injections over the years. They’re not particularly painful and they’re quite effective if that’s where your pain is coming from. Good luck!
FWIW, I had a fairly severe case of scoliosis and my otho surgeon would not do injections… said he felt they may only make things worse.
How effective they would be for you will depend on what your exact issues are; if your Dr has offered them, I’d start a serious conversation with him (and perhaps a second opinion) about how effective he feels they’d be for you.
Would it be an epidural injection or a facet joint injection? From what I’ve heard the epidural injections can be a little more difficult/painful than facet injections.
I got facet joint injections for my Grade 2 spondylolisthesis this past spring My symptoms were extreme stiffness rather than radiating pain/numbness which is why we went with the facet injections. My experience is like Simkie’s - they weren’t a big deal at all and I had almost immediate relief/results. It feels weird but doesn’t really hurt.
A friend of mine has disc issues and has had epidural injections. They sound a lot more invasive/painful, especially if you’re having an active flare-up.
I’ve started to have some numbness in one of my legs so might now give an epidural a try too.
If you get them, just be sure they are done with fluoroscopy. Much less chance of missing the spot. I’ve had several. I found more of a pressure sensation than pain. I was sore at the injection site for a few days after but just sore…like any shot.
Susan
I’ve had injections in lower back. I was on an IV sedative and remember very little. No pain at all. Mine was done using imaging so doc knew exactly where to inject. First injection lasted 5-6 weeks, and the second one only lasted about 3 weeks. Wonderful while it lasted, but I opted not do more because it was a day of work lost, had to find someone to drive me, etc., for a relatively short period of relief.
I have had more back injections than the cheapest claimer at a Fair Meet. For those not familiar with the racing industry that would be a lot. Honestly more than I can count, probably at least 30 over the years. Three so far this year. As fair as pain of the injections themselves none of them are bad. The one I had that hurt the most were the trigger points and the SI joint. The ones that hurt the least were the epidurals.
They add a numbing drug into the injection as well as numbing the skin beforehand. The numbing part of the injection is diagnostic so generally speaking how much you feel during the 4 hours or so that the area is numbed is what you can hope for once the steroid does it’s job in a week or two.
How long the effects last varies but they tend to work for a shorter amount of time each time in my experience.
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