Chronic back pain rarely responds to standard treatments and over-the-counter medication, resulting in debilitating pain that impacts your everyday life. Our medical team addresses your pain at the source – your nerves – with interventional treatments.
In youth and middle age, back pain can often be attributed to soft tissue injuries; as we age, back pain is often the result of gradual degenerative changes.
This type of back pain is caused by inflamed or compressed nerves. Below are some of the most common conditions associated with back pain:
If your chronic back pain is caused by compressed nerves, you may also experience numbness, tingling and muscle weakness along the affected nerve. For example, many people with a compressed sciatica nerve experience pain as well as a burning or tingling sensation along the length of the nerve, from the lower back down through the leg.
Conventional back pain treatments include anti-inflammatory medications and muscle relaxants used in combination with physical therapy. The goal is to improve your range of motion and strengthen the surrounding muscles.
If your back pain doesn’t respond well to conventional treatments, our team looks to interventional pain management options such as epidural steroid injections. These treatments target the affected nerves, addressing your pain at the source.
Your provider administers an inflammation-reducing steroid directly into the epidural space in your back. While long-lasting, the steroid can often take longer to relieve pain, so your doctor may also inject a local anesthetic with the steroid to provide immediate, though temporary, relief.