Caudal Steroid Injection
An injection with a steroid-anesthetic medication is strictly an outpatient procedure, performed by doing the injection in between the opening via the sacrum. There is no need for the patient to stay overnight to prepare or even after the procedure. The festering of the inflamed spinal nerves can be easily managed by taking this medication. This procedure will only take the physician a few minutes to finish.
Preparation
To prepare for the treatment, the patient assumes a prone position, face down with a pillow positioned under the abdomen to lift the sacrum.
Anesthetic Injection
The doctor provides or injects a local anesthetic to desensitize and numb the skin and the tissue above the tiny hole at the bottom of the sacrum called the sacral hiatus.
When the location has been desensitized and numb to the touch, the doctor inserts a needle via the sacral hiatus and through the caudal epidural area and injects the medicine. This is the location of the open space in the sacrum where the inflamed nerve roots are located.
Contrast Solution Injected
The doctor inserts a contrast solution via the needle. The doctor utilizes a fluoroscope (a kind of x-ray equipment) to ensure that the end of the needles is accurately in place within the epidural space.
Medication Injected
Following the careful validation of the needle’s exact position, the doctor positions a steroid-anesthetic medication. This prescription bathes the inflamed nerve roots which will help ease the pain being experienced by the patient.
End of Procedure
After the procedure is finished, the doctor pulls the previously inserted needle and dresses the injection area. The patient experiences a notable amount of physical comfort after one injection. However, this may not be the case for other patients. Others may require multiple injections before they experience any form of relief from the medication.