Treating Nerve Pain With Injections
Pain management doctors receive complaints from patients that are far too common. These patients experience an uncomfortable, searing pain down the leg. In most cases, the doctor can confirm that the issue is sciatica, originating from nerve pain in the spine. More than 40% of the American population suffers from sciatica. There are a few helpful treatment options, namely steroid injections. These injections happen in two ways. In this post, let’s break down facet versus epidural joint injections.
Is it sciatica?
First of all, what’s sciatica? Sciatica is not a condition per se, but a general term doctors use to describe nerve pain. The pain comes from the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. Each side of the nerve starts from the lower back and branches off down each leg, through the buttocks and thigh. Should the nerve get pinched or pressed on in any way, the nerve pain radiates down one leg.
Signs and causes of sciatica
Most cases of sciatica are connected to an underlying condition in the spine. Herniated and degenerative discs are the most common cause. The disc can shift out of place or degrade due to wear and tear, pressing on the sciatic nerve. Another reason could be spinal stenosis, a reduction in the space where the nerves are located. People with sciatica will feel nerve pain, numbness, and even weakness. In severe cases, even walking becomes difficult.
Can a facet joint injection help?
There are some helpful options available, including anti-inflammatory drugs and physical therapy. Facet joint injections are another helpful option, which provides medium- to long-term pain relief. Each vertebra has 4 facet joints that connect to the vertebra above and below. Injecting medication straight to the joint helps reduce pain and discomfort. Facet injections also help doctors to diagnose or confirm a spinal condition. The injections are a combination of a corticosteroid and anesthetic, like lidocaine.
Your facet joint procedure
Facet joint injections are a quick, outpatient procedure. Most injections happen at a doctor’s office or ambulatory surgical center. Before any injection, the doctor will perform a complete medical assessment to ensure the patient is a viable candidate. The procedure starts with the patient lying face down with the back exposed. The doctor will use fluoroscopy, a live x-ray that helps navigate the needle to the facet joint. After injecting the contrast dye, the steroid is injected into the joint capsule, medial nerve branch, or nearby tissue.
Epidural joint injections
Epidural joint injections serve a similar purpose to facet joint injections. These injections provide corticosteroids and anesthetic but seek to reduce inflammation around the sciatic nerves. The doctor follows the same process. Instead of injecting the medicine into the facet joint, the drug goes into the epidural space. The epidural space is a gap between the spine and vertebral wall. Using the same fluoroscopy, the doctor guides the needle to the epidural space.
Epidural vs facet injections
So what’s the difference? Yes, both injections go to the spine and contain the same medication. However, the doctor will choose the right injection based on the underlying condition. Epidural joint injections specifically help for pain that goes to the arms and legs, like sciatica. The injection helps with reducing inflammation of known conditions like herniated discs, degenerative discs, and spinal stenosis. Facet joint injections help with degenerative conditions but can help confirm an existing condition as well. Both can reduce pain for 3 or more months and have high success rates.
Get the treatment you deserve
Sciatic pain can feel unbearable. If left untreated, the pain can cause further damage, requiring surgery. Joint injections can help reduce pain and inflammation while providing an opportunity to work on more non-surgical techniques. Epidural injections work well for long-term inflammation. Facet joint injections help with confirming an existing condition. Get help from a pain management specialist as soon as possible.
