Spine Injections for Back Pain Relief

If your neck or back pain isn’t relieved with pain medicines or physical therapy, your doctor may recommend a steroid injection. Steroids can help decrease swelling and reduce pain. 

Doctors use injections in your spine for pain, but they can also use them to help diagnose what’s causing your pain. If your doctor suspects a specific nerve in your back is causing your symptoms, they may recommend an injection targeted near that nerve. If an injection near this nerve improves your pain right away, it can confirm the nerve is a source of your pain. If you don’t feel relief, it may mean something other than this nerve is causing your pain.  

The most common type of steroid injection in your spine is an epidural steroid injection (ESI) — often, a cortisone injection. Spine specialists use ESIs to treat nerve irritation from disc injuries (damage to the cushioning between your spine bones) or joint conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. 

Before your spine injection, your doctor will numb the affected area so you’re comfortable during the procedure. Then, they inject the steroids close to where you have pain, such as a cervical spine injection (neck) or a lumbar spine injection (lower back). The procedure is quick — just 10 to 15 minutes — and the pain relief can last for weeks or months. You can have up to three injections a year.