Epidural Steroid Injections (June 17, 2014)
Many treatments that are dubbed "alternative medicine" suffer from a lack of research to establish their legitimacy. This is (at least) equally true for the majority of treatments used in conventional medicine. Still, it startles me when I find that a commonly accepted conventional treatment lacks any real evidence supporting its use, in this case, epidural steroid injections for the relief of back and neck pain. Bluntly, neither the safety nor the effectiveness of this procedure has been established. I’m putting a link in for this as proof, mainly because I’m still finding it hard to believe myself:
http://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch/safetyinformation/safetyalertsforhumanmedicalproducts/ucm394530.htm
Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) have been getting more and more bad press over the last couple of years, but they are still treated with such seriousness and respect by the medical community that I was fooled. I really thought that they had a legitimate treatment here.
But simple failure to work of this expensive and invasive treatment isn’t the only drawback to ESIs. Complications are many and serious, including more than one type of life-threatening infection, spinal fluid leaks, positional headaches (these occur about a third of the time and can last indefinitely), adhesive arachnoiditis (inflammation and scar tissue in the spinal canal), hydrocephalus, air embolism, allergic reactions, stroke, blindness, neurological deficits/paralysis, seizures, and death. But people will get these treatments and tell you that they are afraid of acupuncture because of the needles. Go figure.
Clearly, with so many drawbacks and so little hope of actual success, ESIs should never be used at the outset of a course of treatment for any pain condition. Fortunately they are usually suggested only as a last alternative before surgery. But since neither ESIs nor surgery are exceptionally successful options, please, maintain your health, treat pain conditions before they get to a serious state and keep them under control, and make every effort to handle ANY problem conservatively before you resort to drugs and surgery.
--dr. diane holmes
Copyright © 2014
Many treatments that are dubbed "alternative medicine" suffer from a lack of research to establish their legitimacy. This is (at least) equally true for the majority of treatments used in conventional medicine. Still, it startles me when I find that a commonly accepted conventional treatment lacks any real evidence supporting its use, in this case, epidural steroid injections for the relief of back and neck pain. Bluntly, neither the safety nor the effectiveness of this procedure has been established. I’m putting a link in for this as proof, mainly because I’m still finding it hard to believe myself:
http://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch/safetyinformation/safetyalertsforhumanmedicalproducts/ucm394530.htm
Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) have been getting more and more bad press over the last couple of years, but they are still treated with such seriousness and respect by the medical community that I was fooled. I really thought that they had a legitimate treatment here.
But simple failure to work of this expensive and invasive treatment isn’t the only drawback to ESIs. Complications are many and serious, including more than one type of life-threatening infection, spinal fluid leaks, positional headaches (these occur about a third of the time and can last indefinitely), adhesive arachnoiditis (inflammation and scar tissue in the spinal canal), hydrocephalus, air embolism, allergic reactions, stroke, blindness, neurological deficits/paralysis, seizures, and death. But people will get these treatments and tell you that they are afraid of acupuncture because of the needles. Go figure.
Clearly, with so many drawbacks and so little hope of actual success, ESIs should never be used at the outset of a course of treatment for any pain condition. Fortunately they are usually suggested only as a last alternative before surgery. But since neither ESIs nor surgery are exceptionally successful options, please, maintain your health, treat pain conditions before they get to a serious state and keep them under control, and make every effort to handle ANY problem conservatively before you resort to drugs and surgery.
--dr. diane holmes
Copyright © 2014