Transforaminal Epidural Injections for Low Back Pain and Sciatica

Transforaminal Epidural Injections are commonly used to treat lower back pain and pain in the legs. These injections have been considered essential to manage sciatica and lower back pain since 1952. Sometimes, the epidural injection is enough to provide pain relief, but usually the injection is accompanied by a rigorous rehabilitation program for complete recovery.Although the results of the injections are temporary, ranging from pain relief for a week to a year, these injections can prove to be really effective when a patient suffers from acute pain in the back or legs. Especially, administering an epidural injection would allow the patient to be pain free enough to start an exercise program towards rehabilitation. If an injection provides temporary relief to a patient for a while, they can get three injections in the duration of one year.Transforaminal Epidural Injections are equally effective for neck pain (cervical pain), and pain in the thoracic vertebrae or mid spine in addition to the lumbar region(lower back).The focus of this article is on the treatment of sciatica and lower back pain with these injections.Effectiveness of InjectionsPhysicians agree that the transforaminal epidural injections are highly effective in the short term, however their long term effectiveness is still questionable. One reason is that no proper studies have been performed on the subject.


For instance, the studies most often do not utilize fluoroscopy or X-ray to confirm that the medication was administered in the right area or not, despite it is a common practice to use fluoroscopic assistance these days. Moreover, several studies classify the patients with different diagnosis and pain sources altogether. Such flaws in the methodology make it almost impossible to draw a meaningful outcome or interpretation of the study.There is a need for more studies to accurately determine the efficacy of these injections in treating sciatica and low back pain. Nonetheless, according to most of the studies on the subject, over 50% of the patients get pain relief in quantifiable terms through epidural steroid injections. These studies also emphasize that these injections should be administered by specialists with ample experience and fluoroscopy must be used to ensure the correct placement of the medication.Potential Benefits of InjectionsWith transforaminal epidural injections, the medication is administered directly to or very near to the painful area. If we compare that to oral intake of pain medications, these injections have more focused and spot on impact without the side effects that oral medicine may have. It immediately starts controlling inflammation that causes pain. The epidural steroid injection flushes out the chemicals and inflammatory proteins that intensify the pain.