Cervical Epidural Steroid Injections

Between 50 and 80% of adults will experience some form of neck and back pain over the course of their lifetime. Specifically in terms of chronic neck pain and cervical radiculitis, the treatment of choice has been cervical epidural steroid injections.

This treatment is highly regarded as a quick, effective treatment for reducing or eliminating cervical nerve pain. In fact, most patients are able to benefit from the injection’s immediate effect of reducing their pain. These patients are able to almost immediately resume daily activities.

At Wake Spine & Pain Specialists our goal is to relieve your pain and improve function to increase your quality of life.
Cervical Epidural Steroid Injections are generally non-to minimally invasive and are conservative in nature.
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Within the spinal canal, the spinal cord is surrounded by the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which acts as protective padding for the nerve bundle of the spinal cord. The spinal cord and the CSF are held in place within the spinal canal by a durable membrane. The cervical epidural steroid injection is given in the epidural space, which is the area just outside of this membrane. Only topical anaesthetic is used on the surface of the skin prior to the injection. Using an x-ray as a guide for proper placement into the epidural space, the physician inserts the needle into the vertebrae. Contrast dye is used to test for proper placement of the needle prior to injecting the steroids, as well as appropriate distribution of the solution within the area of interest. Once proper placement has been confirmed, the physician administers the steroids. Moreover, steroids are administered only in areas with the most inflammation. This reduces the amount of exposure the patient has to the steroids.

Steroid injections are commonly utilized among anaesthesiologists for the treatment of nerve pain near the head and neck resulting from compression of the nerve fibers. Other conditions that are also treated with steroid injections include:

• Herniated disk
• Nerve compression (specifically, in the neck)