Meet Our Physicians Banner Image

Epidurals 101

Epidural injections are often associated with childbirth, but epidural pain treatments can be administered in response to a variety of symptoms. For patients who are experiencing heightened symptoms of pain and inflammation in specific areas of the body, epidural treatments can be an effective solution to relieving any pain.

Primarily, these injections are utilized when a patient presents with pain in their backs, arms, legs or necks. This procedure can be used as both a long- and short-term pain management solution, depending on the severity of symptoms, and the patient’s daily routines. Athletes often receive epidurals to treat prolonged or repeated injuries and will also administer other healing options along with the injection to improve and speed up the recovery process.

If you are searching for the right pain specialist in Orange County to help treat your symptoms, contact CRPM today and our expert team help you start feeling better, sooner. Find out more about epidural injections and if you are a good candidate to receive one with our in-depth look at this treatment option.

Epidural Injections

To administer an epidural injection, your pain specialist will begin by testing your pain level and examine how much inflammation is surrounding the site in question. The medicine used in epidurals is a combination of both strong pain medication, and an anesthetic to alleviate symptoms. Epidurals are administered while the patient is fully awake, though a local anesthetic will help alleviate any pressure pain from the insertion process. An imaging machine will be utilized to guide the injection into the path of the inflamed nerve that is being treated.

Patients are usually able to have an epidural injection administered during a visit to their specialist’s office and are free to leave once the injection has been delivered, and the patient feels ready to continue with their day. Your doctor will advise that you wait until the injection has begun to work, and that you feel strong enough before leaving the office completely.

Following your appointment and the administration of the epidural shot, you should have arranged for someone to pick you up and drive you home. If there is soreness at the site of the injection, use an ice pack on the area for fifteen minutes at a time to manage. Patients are encouraged to rest for the remainder of the day and potentially the following day if the soreness continues. Do not try to do any heavy lifting or workout for a day after the injection. You will schedule a follow-up appointment with your doctor before leaving the office, and during that check-up your doctor will make sure the injection worked correctly, and that all resulting symptoms have subsided. For more information, or to book an appointment with a pain specialist in Orange County, contact our medical professionals at CRPM today.

Are you a Good Candidate?

Optimal candidates for an epidural injection include patients who are experiencing a severe level of pain or inflammation in their back, arms, legs or neck. Patients with substantial spinal injuries such as a herniated disc, sciatica, spinal stenosis or spondylosis can also greatly benefit from the administration of an epidural injection.

Patients who are suffering from one or more of these conditions will experience significant pain relief following an epidural treatment, and frequent injections may be enough solution to the problem. Patients also have the option to combine an epidural injection with a prescribed amount of physical therapy to increase their efforts to decrease any pain symptoms. Get treatment for your chronic pain today with the top pain specialist in Orange County from The Centers of Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine!