Lumbar Epidural Injections in Manhattan, NY

A lumbar epidural steroid injection (LESI) or a transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) are minimally invasive procedures used to treat low back pain that radiates into your lower extremities. A combination of local anesthetics and corticosteroids are used to provide relief in pain and improve function. Patients often experience a significant decrease in their pain starting 3-5 days following their procedure and results can last for up to 3 or more months.

Patients with low back pain that radiates into their legs and have not responded well to conservative treatments, including physical therapy, medication management, and lifestyle modifications may be a candidate for a lumbar epidural steroid injection. During your initial consultation your physician will take a medical history, perform a physical exam, and review any diagnostic imaging to determine if you may benefit from an LESI or TFESI.

There are two approaches to a lumbar epidural steroid injection, interlaminar and transforaminal. During an interlaminar epidural steroid injection, a needle is placed, using fluoroscopic (X-Ray) guidance into your epidural space through the center of your vertebrae. This is the most common approach and is often tried before the second approach, called a transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI). A TFESI also uses fluoroscopic guidance, but instead the needle is placed into the epidural space through the side of the vertebrae. This approach allows for the medication to be targeted to one side of the spine and is often used if the patient’s diagnostic imaging shows pathology on only one side.

Both procedure techniques can be performed in our in-office procedure suite and can be offered with conscious sedation. A local anesthetic is used to provide immediate relief of pain as well as provide comfort during the procedure. A corticosteroid is the medication that is injected into the epidural space to reduce inflammation and swelling and provider long lasting relief. The procedure takes less than 30 minutes and there is little to no downtime. Patients who receive sedation for their procedure will need to recover in our recovery room for 20-30 minutes before being discharged.

If you have low back pain that radiates into your lower extremities and think that you would benefit from a lumbar epidural steroid injection, please contact our midtown Manhattan office to speak with one of our staff members and book a consultation with one of your physicians.