/assets/images/provider/photos/2605204.jpg)
For sufferers of chronic back pain, steroid medications can offer relief. Could you be a candidate for steroids for your back pain? Keep reading about the information you need for this type of pain relief.
Chronic back pain makes your life worse in many ways, from aches at work to painful nights trying to sleep. Dr. Beejal Y Amin knows how disruptive back pain can be. That’s why he offers a full range of treatments for back pain from his offices in Oak Lawn, South Holland, and Orland Park, Illinois.
Many of Dr. Amin’s back pain patients benefit from treatment with steroid medication. Could steroids be what you need to resolve your back pain? Here’s what you need to know about this pain relief option and how steroid treatment could improve your quality of life in the short term. Steroid treatment also pairs well with other treatment strategies like physical therapy.
Solving your back pain
Back pain can occur due to many causes, including spinal issues. Back pain is defined as chronic if it lasts six weeks without improvement.
Dr. Amin uses diagnostic testing, symptom review, and a thorough physical examination to learn more about the causes of your back pain. He recommends the most conservative treatment options possible for your case, which may include treatment with steroids.
Dr. Amin may prescribe steroid medications like prednisone after trying treatments like rest, physical therapy, and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicine for your back pain. The steroid medications Dr. Amin uses aren’t the same as the anabolic steroid medications abused by athletes and bodybuilders, so you don’t need to worry about your health!
Steroids for chronic back pain
Steroid medications can provide effective temporary pain relief for back pain and other pain problems. These anti-inflammatory medicines work effectively to soothe pain and inflammation related to a variety of causes, including causes of back pain.
Steroids can treat back pain in several forms. Oral steroid medications are helpful for pain management, and targeted corticosteroids can be injected into a problem area around your spine to relieve inflammation and swelling.
How steroid injections help with pain
If your back pain is related to an irritated spinal nerve, corticosteroid injections can effectively block inflammation, which allows healing to occur, and temporarily relieves your pain symptoms. Dr. Amin delivers your injection into the epidural space around your spine near the affected nerve root.
Steroid injections are an effective treatment option for pain related to herniated discs, spinal narrowing, and rheumatoid arthritis. Spinal epidurals also help with nerve irritation related to degenerative disc disease. Injection treatment isn’t significantly painful, and most patients can bear the treatment without too much discomfort.
While spinal steroid injections are safe and effective as a short-term pain relief strategy, long-term use can result in problematic side effects, including metabolism changes, increased risk of infection, muscle weakness, high blood pressure, and mood swings. Dr. Amin doesn’t recommend steroid injections for long-term pain relief.
Contact Dr. Amin today to learn how steroid medications can help your back pain problem. Book online or call now to schedule your initial consultation appointment.