Lumbar epidural steroid injections are a common therapy for patients with lower back and leg pain as a result of a disc bulge or herniation. If the disc is bulging or herniated it can compress the nerve root causing leg pain and or weakness.
The epidural space is a area around the spinal cord and is adjacent to the disc.
Injection into this space allows medication to bathe the irritated nerve root and disc. One can think of an epidural steroid injection as putting water on a large fire. At the Centeno-Schultz Clinic all epidural steroid injections are performed under x-ray to ensure accurate placement of medication. Unlike other clinics, we do not use the conventional high concentrations of steroids. For example most epidural steroid injections use 4 or more milligrams of steroids. At the Centeno-Schultz Clinic we use only nano-grams concentrations because it is closer to the dose that the body uses naturally. It also avoids the adverse effects of steroids which include suppression of immune and renal function, itching, increase in epidural fat, deterioration of the outer annuls of the disc, insomnia and weight gain. If steroid therapy is not effective or not attractive to the patient, through Regenexx we have the ability to inject natural growth factors such as platelet lysate of VEGF supernatant into the epidural space. These factors not only provide an anti-inflammatory effect for the irritated nerve and disc but they also promote increased blood blow to the disc and therefore healing.
