When your back hurts all the time, you can get desperate for relief. But sometimes, the things even doctors recommend have risks that aren’t for everyone. Thinking about getting injections for your degenerative disc disease? Make sure you’re well-informed and ask questions.
Will Steroid Injections Help My Degenerative Disc Disease?
The efficacy of steroid injections for degenerative disc disease is a point of debate. According to a study published in 2004 by the National Institutes of Health, “No conclusive evidence exists to determine that spinal steroid injections give lasting improvement in patients with predominantly axial low back pain resulting from lumbar degenerative disc disease.”
Of course, science makes new discoveries, and we learn more. As of today, that means that steroid injections may or may not be the best choice for treating degenerative disc disease.
A Korean study in 2015 suggested that for patients with chronic lower back disc degenerative disease, steroid shots could provide some relief from the pain. However, other researchers pointed out that the study failed to talk about the potential negative side effects of epidural steroids.
The pitfalls and risks of lumbar injections are not necessarily common, but there are definitely risks associated with this treatment plan. This study, discussed in PubMed, points out that the risks associated with epidural injections are largely ignored in the studies, or the information is simply lacking. The lack of information is problematic because a review of 43,000 injections in a private pain management clinic showed as many as one in six injections resulted in complications. The study concludes that serious complications are uncommon but minor complications, including “profuse bleeding, local hematoma, dural puncture and headache, nerve root or spinal cord irritation with resultant injury, and infectious complications.”
Here at Total Chiropractic Care & Wellness, we recommend that patients considering epidural treatment for degenerative disc disease examine all the options and potential complications before making a treatment plan.
How Long Do Epidural Treatments Last?
NYU’s Langone Health says that epidural treatment for degenerative disc disease can last weeks or months. How long the treatment lasts can depend on everything from the degree of degeneration to the complicating factors. For example, epidural treatments are often more effective if the patient has bone growths that press directly on the nerve.
But before you take the risks of having a needle injected into or near your spine, you may want to talk with a chiropractor.
At Total Chiropractic Care & Wellness, we offer several different treatment options to address your chronic back pain. Spinal decompression is a non-invasive, non-surgical alternative to spinal injections. By using traction to gently stretch the spine, we can sometimes help herniated discs slide back into place and improve blood and nutrient flow to the injured portion of the spine to promote healing.
We also offer cold laser therapy that can relieve back pain for patients who are ill-suited for spinal decompression, including those with severe nerve damage, pregnancy, or osteoporosis.
Total Chiropractic Care & Wellness Offers Non-invasive Alternatives to Spinal Injections
If you are dealing with degenerative disc disease, we can help you develop a treatment plan that helps you overcome the pain without worries of further damaging the spinal cord. To relieve your chronic back pain, contact us online or give us a call today at (631) 447-2299 for an appointment.