When might I need a spinal injection?
You may need a spinal injection to ease back, neck, arm, and leg pain caused by inflamed spinal nerves. Spine conditions that often cause nerve inflammation include herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, and facet joint arthritis.
These conditions also commonly pinch spinal nerves. As a result, you experience pain and tingling that travel down your arms and legs.
What type of spinal injection might I receive?
The providers at Innovation Spine Medical offer several types of spinal injections. You may receive:
Epidural steroid injections
Your provider injects steroids together with a local anesthetic into the epidural space surrounding the spinal nerves. They use fluoroscopy, a real-time X-ray, to place the injection near the inflamed nerves, allowing the medications to flow around the nerves.
The anesthetic gives you fast but short-lived pain relief. It takes a little time for steroids to reduce inflammation, but once they take effect, you get longer-lasting relief.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
PRP is a regenerative therapy that your provider may recommend for spinal conditions such as herniated discs, degenerated discs, and facet joint arthritis. After injecting PRP, the platelets accelerate healing, reduce inflammation, and draw regenerative stem cells to the area to rebuild new tissues.
Prolotherapy
Prolotherapy refers to an injection that primarily contains sugar. Your provider injects the sugar near injured soft tissues in your spine, such as tendons, ligaments, and muscles. The sugar triggers your body’s natural healing response, speeding up healing and easing your pain.
Medial branch block
This spinal injection eases the pain caused by arthritis in the facet joints between vertebrae. Your provider injects an anesthetic near the nerves carrying pain signals from the joint to your brain. The anesthetic blocks the signals, which relieves pain originating in the joint.
If your medial branch block is effective, your provider may recommend a longer-lasting treatment like radiofrequency ablation. This treatment uses a needle to deliver radiofrequency energy to the nerve. This creates a wound that blocks pain signals for many months.
What type of injection is viscosupplementation?
Viscosupplementation treats knee arthritis. This injection contains hyaluronic acid, a substance that’s normally produced inside the knee joint. Hyaluronic acid serves as a lubricant that allows smooth bone movement and helps absorb shock.
Since people with osteoarthritis have low levels of hyaluronic acid, viscosupplementation helps restore movement and ease knee pain.
If you struggle with ongoing pain, call Innovation Spine Medical or book an appointment online today.
