I’m scheduled to have an injection on the 7th. What should I expect?
Do they hurt? Do they really help? Do they last? What other options are there?
I didn’t have a back injury, but I had a pretty severe shoulder impingement. I had about 50% mobility in my shoulder and was having difficulty with simple tasks like taking off my shirt or reaching out to close the car door. My doctor gave me a cortisone shot deep into my shoulder (it didn’t really hurt but felt very strange). He also gave me a brochure of exercises to do.
After I got the shot, I was able to do the exercises twice a day. It’s been about 4 months and I have nearly all mobility back. So, my experience was pretty awesome. Good luck!
I think it depends very much on the nature of injury/condition.
I had two frozen shoulders (aka adhesive capsulitis) last year. I got a cortisone injection in one (and, as Glory noted, it didn’t hurt but felt weird), and it did diddly-squat. Based on that, I declined having a shot in the other shoulder. My guess (and perhaps one of our medical Dopers will weigh in) is that the pain and restricted movement were due more to adhesions and scar tissue than inflammation, and for that reason the shot really didn’t do much.
I have two herniated discs and sciatica - usually fairly low-grade discomfort but flare-ups can be agonising, as I’m sure you know!
About eight years ago during a very bad flare-up I had the shot done in the ER. It wasn’t so much painful as numb, at the time. Like freckafree, I didn’t notice any pain relief. Granted, my back/leg pain slowly subsided over a few weeks, but it always does - I have flare ups about once a year and have had worse ones since. There was no noticeable relief after the shot, although it’s possible, I suppose, that it would have been worse without it. For the record, I’ve also taken (twice) Medrol steroid packs and they didn’t do a thing either.
This article is pretty informative. I subscribe to the spine-health newsletter.
Hopefully it will work for you, though! And I hope you come back with an update. I’d certainly consider it again, maybe second time would be the charm.
Instant, blessed relief. (Well, not quite instant. As I recall it took about 12 hours to take effect.)
Yeah, to the same extent that any shot hurts.
Yes. Oh god, yes. A million times yes. Did I mention that the answer to this question is yes?
Yes–two years so far with no recurrence.
Options that don’t work.
I guess you’re having an injection in the back? If so, it doesn’t hurt, exactly, because they numb you. (That pricks a bit, but no worse than any other injection.) Then there’s some pressure and minor discomfort. The worst part of it is that you’re lying face down on a table with your butt up and people doing mysterious things to your back. That part’s not too amusing.
When I had it done, they did it in a small room with an xray device. They first insert a needle into the correct region and inject a dye. When the dye perfuses into the right nerve area, then they inject the steroids. So when they adjust the needle, there’s pressure. I think it helps to understand what they’re doing.
The steroid has an anesthetic mixed in, so if they hit the right spot, you’ll get some immediate (but short-lived relief). Then the steroid theoretically does its job over the next few days.
I’ve had a cortisone shot in my heel, and between some toes. In the hands of a skilled practitioner, there was almost no pain…and quite a bit of relief.
I’m definitely a believer.
-D/a
Thanks everyone. Finagle, I believe the shots will be in my neck. So, it sounds like it won’t hurt too badly. Glad to hear that!
I sure hope it helps, I want my life back!
Fingers crossed for you! Provide an update, OK?
After reading the couple of strong endorsements here, I’m definitely keeping this option open. At worst it does no harm, at best it really helps. I googled around a bit and didn’t find any evidence it could make things worse. I really hope it helps you.
Thanks chiroptera. I’ll post an update after I get the injection.
When I was young, I had a dachshund. His back got bad as he got older, to the point that he couldn’t use his hind legs, and pulled himself around with his front legs with his butt dragging on the ground. And he seemed to be is serious pain a lot, because he whined and yelped horribly.
We took him to the vet, who have him a shot. I assume it was a cortisone shot.
In the time that it took to get back home, he was running around like a puppy again.
So cortisone (if that’s what it was) clearly works for at least some patients!
I totally forgot about this incident until you brought it up.
Many years ago I had a senior Rottweiler. I cam home from work one day and he couldn’t stand up and was very distressed; I thought he’d had a stroke.
Rushed him to the vet. It took me and a vet tech to get him out of my truck and into the clinic because he couldn’t walk. Vet - old country vet - did no fancy diagnostics, just poked and prodded, said “hmmmm” and gave him a steroid shot in the lower back. Shortly thereafter, the dog walked back out to my truck, climbed in by himself and never had a recurrence.
Typically the steroid shot also contains an anesthetic to provide immediate relief, which shows the doc they really got the right spot. At least for the lumbar spine, the needle is intimidatingly large, but pretty painless (3rds on “weird”).
Keep in mind that the injection is only a small part of recovery. You’ll need PT, an exercise regimen, and perhaps some lifestyle changes to stay pain-free. Good luck.
Is your herniated disc located in your cervical spine? If so, what are your symptoms and how severe are they?
When I was 30, I had one disc rupture and the one below it was herniated and pressing on my spinal cord. (C-4/5 and C-5/6 in the cervical spine). My right arm hurt like hell all the time and most of the time I couldn’t even write with my right hand. I went thru a series of three steroid injections in a three week period, but my condition was too serious for them to make any noticeable difference. A week after the last injection, I had a ‘C-spine Fusion’ which basically removed the bad discs and used bone tissue from my hip and lots of screws and plates to lump those three vertebrae together! It was 100% successful.
The good news is that the injections DO help a lot of people! My sister works for my orthopedic surgeon and she sees them work every day.
The injections are not painful, in my experience. They spray a topical anesthetic to numb the injection site, then the doctor injects the steroid into the affected area. It’s no worse than a flu shot, in my opinion.
Good luck! I wish you the best! 
Everyone is different. I had two herniated disc with severe sciatica nerve pain at two different times separated by a five year span. On each occasion I was forced to go through a regimented procedure (even though it was clear that surgery was the only option) consisting of painful physical therapy, lots of drugs that did not reduce pain and three rounds of shots directly into the spine. YES IT HURT LIKE HELL!!! The shots did absolutely nothing! My pain was so bad that I could barely lay down for the X-ray (which was not necessary) or the MRI which was necessary. After the second surgery I refused to go to physical therapy. Best decision I ever made. I now work as home improvement associate and must do heavy lifting. Being careful and knowing how to lift is key.
The point I’m making is listen to your body. If the medicines don’t work and the first injection don’t work then insist on a well qualified neurosurgeon to operate.
My L5S1 disc is herniated, and I had an injection almost 6 years ago. The relief was almost instantaneous, though I did technically go into shock during the procedure, which was a weird experience.
I just had my worst recurrence of pain this fall, and was able to get rid of it with OTC painkillers, muscle relaxers at night, and PT, with no Rx painkillers or injection required. So, I haven’t had to get another one yet, and I’m trying to postpone it as long as possible by exercising, using good lifting form, etc.
Thank you, yes the problem is in my cervical spine. I guess I have some bulging in C3 through 7. It’s been very disruptive! I can’t make a fist a lot of the time. My fingers feel like they’re on fire. My middle finger is always numb. I can’t sleep without percocet and flexeril.
I’m hoping surgery won’t be needed though. I’m self employed!