Originally Posted by
oldrebel
When you say injections suck, prepare yourself. Do you mean hurts like hell? Also when you say conservative therapy on the neck, what do you mean?
Conservative: non-operative. Physical therapy, massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, pain management, etc.
Epidural steroid injections involve piercing the thecal sac (the sheath around the spinal cord which contains the cerebral spinal fluid) under fluoroscopy (live x-ray w/ dye). A corticosteroid often blended with lidocaine and/or ropivacaine is injected, which helps ‘calm down’ the inflamed nerve root. The cocktail varies, but it’s usually a steroid and a local.
The actual piercing doesn’t really hurt at all. As the fluid is pushed into the sac, the extra fluid imparts additional pressure on the nerves in the vicinity...especially if the anesthesiologist pushes it quickly. It feels like massive pressure. Not fun. As soon as all the meds are in though, it’s gone. Just gotta deal with it.
You should get pretty rapid relief from the lido. That wears off relatively quickly, and it can take a few days for the steroid to act.
It isn't a comfortable experience, but I highly recommend trying it before pursuing surgery...unless immediate surgery is indicated.