How long does the injection take?
The actual injection takes only a few minutes. What medications are used for the injections? The injection consists of a mixture of local anesthetic (lidocaine or bupivicaine) and the steroids (depo-medrol or betamethasone) Does the injection hurt? The procedure involves inserting a needle through the skin and deep tissue. So, there is some discomfort involved. But, we will numb the skin and deep tissues with a local anesthetic (lidocaine) before inserting the block needle. Most of the patients also receive intravenous sedation and pain medication, which makes the procedure easier to tolerate. Will I be put to sleep for this procedure? No. This procedure is done under local anesthesia. Most of the patients also receive intravenous sedation and pain medication, which makes the procedure easier to tolerate. The amount of sedation given usually depends upon the patient tolerance. How is the injection done? It is done with the patient lying on their stomach, under fluoroscopy (live x-ray).
The actual injection takes only a few minutes. What is actually injected? The injection consists of a mixture of local anesthetic (like lidocaine or bupivacaine) and the steroid medication (triamcinolone Aristocort or methylprednisolone Depo-medrol, Celestone-Soluspan). Will the injection hurt? The procedure involves inserting a needle through skin and deeper tissues (like a “tetanus shot”). So, there is some discomfort involved. However, we numb the skin and deeper tissues with a local anesthetic using a very thin needle prior to inserting the Epidural needle. Also, the tissues in the midline have less nerve supply, so usually you feel strong pressure and not much pain. Most of the patients also receive intravenous sedation and analgesia, which makes the procedure easy to tolerate. Will I be “put out” for this procedure? No. This procedure is done under local anesthesia. Most of the patients also receive intravenous sedation and analgesia, which makes the procedure easy to tolerate. T
