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Pain Injections Q & A

What are pain injections?

Pain injections are a treatment option for persistent pain that’s not treatable with oral medications.

The goal of pain injections is to deliver anesthetic and anti-inflammatory medications directly into the injured or damaged area to better manage your pain. 

This treatment works as a pain blocker, numbing nearby nerves and blocking the pain signal from traveling to your brain. Injected steroids reduce inflammation that contributes to your pain so you can begin healing.

Why would I need pain injections?

You may be a candidate for pain injections if you have chronic joint pain, back pain, or neck pain from injuries or underlying conditions like:

  • Osteoarthritis
  • Neuropathy
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis

If oral medications and physical therapy aren’t enough to relieve persistent pain, the team at The Neuroscience and Spine Institute can determine if injections are the best treatment option.

In some cases, pain injections are useful as a diagnostic tool to identify the nerves responsible for your chronic pain. By injecting anesthetic medications into a group of nerves, your provider can confirm your diagnosis if you experience pain relief. 

The team may administer additional injections as a therapeutic treatment for your condition.

What can I expect during pain injections?

During your visit for a pain blocker injection, your provider at The Neuroscience and Spine Institute can numb the injection site to keep you comfortable.

For some injections, they rely on the guidance of fluoroscopy — a real-time X-ray technology — to position the pain injection in the right location.

How many pain injections will I need?

The number of pain blocker injections you need depends on your condition and the location and severity of your pain. Typically, the results of an injection take a few days to notice. 

Immediately after the injection, you may have an increase in your pain. But within a few days, you should experience a significant reduction in pain and inflammation.

For many people, relief from a pain injection lasts several weeks or months. Your provider can determine if you need additional injections based on your treatment progress and overall health.

To find out if pain injections can treat your chronic pain from arthritis or other conditions, call The Neuroscience and Spine Institute or request a diagnostic evaluation online today.