What to do When Spinal Injections Fail

Steroid injections are a common treatment option for patients dealing with back pain. These injections are quick and relatively painless, which makes them a popular choice for patients looking to decrease their pain. But sometimes steroid injections fail to adequately reduce back pain in the long term. Here is a basic guide to follow when steroidal injections do not relieve your spine pain.

The Goal of Spinal Steroid Injections

There are many types of injections that can be used to treat a person’s back pain, from nerve blocks, to regenerative medicine techniques. Steroidal injections are perhaps the most widely used. These injections use a steroidal solution that is injected into the spine in order to reduce inflammation and pain.

The downside of steroid injections is that they tend to wear off over time, and require the patient to come back for additional injections when the pain returns. The amount of pain relief provided varies by patient. Some may not experience any pain relief at all from injections, while others may have complete pain relief for months.

When Injections Don’t Work

So what are your options when steroid injections don’t give you the pain relief you need? There are a number of other conservative options that may still benefit the patient (physical therapy, other injections, etc.), but many patients start to consider minimally invasive keyhole spinal surgery once they have tried injections to no avail.

Many Inspired Spine patients have previously tried steroid injections with little to no success. The injections they were receiving did not provide pain relief, or only reduced the pain for a short period, only to have the pain come roaring back. Minimally invasive spinal surgery addresses the root cause of the patient’s back pain and fixes the issue at its source. Inspired Spine is a leading innovator in the field of spine surgery, having developed revolutionary procedures that offer low pain, short operating times, and fast recovery periods. If you have tried treating your pain with injection therapy and have not seen the pain relief you desire, consider an Inspired Spine procedure. You can learn more about our surgeries (the Inspired OLLIF and the Inspired MIS-DTIF) by contacting us, or finding a provider near you who performs these procedures.