Epidural Steroid Injections: What to Expect, What They Can and Cannot Fix
An epidural steroid injection delivers anti-inflammatory medicine into the space surrounding irritated spinal nerves, most often to calm leg or arm pain from a…
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Blog Category
Pain & Injections
Articles on interventional pain treatment: nerve blocks and joint or spine injections, what they can relieve, how long relief tends to last and the risks to weigh with your doctor.
Inside an Epidural Injection for Sciatica: Imaging, Contrast and the Minutes That Follow
An epidural injection for sciatica places a corticosteroid, usually with a local anesthetic, into the epidural space around irritated spinal nerves, guided by live…
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How Long Does Facet Denervation Relief Last and What Happens When Nerves Regrow?
Relief after facet denervation, a procedure that heats the tiny medial branch nerves so they stop carrying pain signals from an arthritic spinal joint,…
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What Causes Sciatica (and Why the Buttock Hurts)
Sciatica is most often caused by a herniated (slipped) disc in the lower spine pressing on or irritating one of the nerve roots that…
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What a Multidisciplinary Chronic Pain Treatment Plan Looks Like: Team, Sessions and Reviews
A multidisciplinary chronic pain treatment plan brings a pain physician, physical therapist, psychologist, nurse and often an occupational therapist or pharmacist around one shared…
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How Spinal Cord Stimulation Is Implanted: The Trial Phase, the Leads and the Generator
A spinal cord stimulation procedure happens in two stages. First, a short trial: thin wires called leads are placed in the epidural space through…
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Cortisone Shot Side Effects: The Common, the Rare and the Flare
Most cortisone shot side effects are mild and brief: soreness at the injection site, a temporary pain flare lasting 24 to 48 hours, facial…
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Are Joint Injections Right for Arthritis, Gout or Bursitis? Where They Fit in the Plan
Joint injections can be a reasonable part of a plan for arthritis, gout or bursitis when one or a few joints are painful and…
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Shock Wave Therapy Side Effects: Redness, Soreness and What the First Two Days Feel Like
Shockwave therapy side effects are usually mild and short-lived: temporary redness, warmth, slight swelling, small pinpoint bruises and a deep, bruised-feeling soreness at the…
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Trigger Point Injections: How They Work and Who They Help
Trigger point injections place a thin needle, often with a small amount of numbing medication, directly into a tight, tender knot of…
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What Sciatica Feels Like: Leg, Groin, Knee and Both Legs
Sciatica usually feels like a sharp, burning or electric pain that starts in the lower back or buttock and travels down the back of…
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Steroid Injection Side Effects: What Is Normal and What Needs a Call
Mild soreness, a brief flare of pain lasting 24 to 72 hours, facial flushing, and a temporary rise in blood sugar are common and…
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Cortisone Shots in the Knee: Relief, Limits and the Repeat-Injection Question
A cortisone shot in the knee delivers a corticosteroid directly into the joint to calm inflammation. Relief typically begins within a few days and…
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How Long Does a Nerve Block Last? From Numbness to Full Sensation Returning
A nerve block for surgery usually lasts several hours to about a day, and sometimes longer, depending on the local anesthetic used, the nerve…
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Cortisone Shots in the Shoulder: What to Expect and When They Make Sense
A cortisone shot in the shoulder is a corticosteroid injection that calms inflammation in a joint, bursa, or around a tendon. Relief usually begins…
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Knee Gel Injections: Cost and Evidence for Hyaluronic Acid, Honestly
The price of hyaluronic acid knee injections varies widely with the product used, the number of injections in a course, imaging guidance, and country,…
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Stem Cell Therapy for Knees: Where the Science Actually Stands
Stem cell therapy for knees remains experimental. Small studies suggest injections of bone-marrow or fat-derived cells may ease osteoarthritis pain for some people, but…
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