Epidural Steroid Injection for Sciatica Nerves Q&A

Sciatica nerve is the nerve that branches from the lower back through your hips and buttocks while continuing down each leg. Sciatica pain is the pain that you feel radiating along the path of this sciatica nerve, commonly this sciatica pain only affects one side of your body.

Many patients deal with sciatica pain when they have a herniated disk, bone spur located on the spine or the narrowing of the spine (which is known as spinal stenosis) and it compresses part of this nerve. This can lead to inflammation, pain and many times numbness in the affected leg.

Sciatica pain can be moderate to severe, and in most cases patients are able to find relief from this pain with non-operative treatments within weeks of being diagnosed. However, anyone dealing with sciatica that notices severe leg weakness or bowel/bladder changes might be candidates for surgery.

Talk to Dr. Morchower at OmniSpine Pain Management to find out if the sciatica pain you are dealing with can be easily treated by an epidural steroid injection or if you may need surgery.

The success rate of an epidural steroid injection for your sciatica nerve pain can vary depending on a multitude of factors. At OmniSpine Pain Management, Dr. Morchower can go over any underlying conditions or other factors that may affect the success of your epidural steroid injection; however, in almost all of our patient cases, they have found relief from their sciatica nerve pain with an epidural steroid injection.

The success rate from an epidural steroid injection increases with physical therapy. When used together, it offers an added benefit that many of our patients notice almost immediately. It improves the quality of the pain relief found in our patients and overall satisfaction is higher.

Most patients who receive an epidural steroid injection for their sciatica nerve pain find relief and with this, they are able to get back to their daily activities and normal routines. Every patient will find different levels of pain relief from the epidural steroid injection, most of our patients have felt immense relief and continue to feel immense relief well after their first injection. Depending on each individual, epidural steroid injections can last anywhere from one week up to a year. If you are experiencing pain from the sciatica nerve, book a consultation with Dr. Morchower today. He will be able to determine the best schedule to maintain your pain relief without having to worry about any issues or dangerous side effects.

The appointment may take on average between 10 to 15 minutes, however, do not expect to go home for at least another 20 to 30 after your injection, this is to make sure you are doing well after the injection. After the epidural steroid injection, your legs may feel heavy or even numb. Most patients are able to walk after, but you need to be extra careful, as you can easily lose your balance in this state. This is why it is so crucial we ask you stay an extra few minutes to completely review how you are doing and whether you are able to go home yet or not. The steroid injections may take on average 1 to 5 days to start to work, so even though you may feel pain relief immediately after the appointment, this is temporary as you may have had local anesthetic.

It is highly recommended that you do less than what you would normally do each day for the next few days, this is to let your body rest and offer the epidural steroid injection time to start working. Follow-up care for your sciatica pain is a key part of your treatment and for your safety. Be sure to continue going to all of your follow-up appointments after the treatment, and call OmniSpine anytime if you notice any issues arising.

As a patient of OmniSpine Pain Management, you will find we provide the most professional and experienced medical care for your pain relief.

OmniSpine Pain Management specializes in epidural steroid injections for sciatica pain. OmniSpine has three convenient locations for you to choose from in Frisco, Sunnyvale, and Mesquite TX. Book your consultation appointment online or simply call us for more information. We serve patients from Dallas TX, Frisco TX, Mesquite TX, Sunnyvale TX, Plano TX, Garland TX, Forney TX, Cedar Hill TX, Denton TX, Balch Springs TX, and surrounding areas.