Epidural for Herniated Disc

An Epidural is one of the most common treatments used for a Herniated Disc. In fact, this treatment is typically prescribed if medications do not alleviate the pain.

Depending on where the herniated disc is located, the doctor performing the epidural will inject a drug that numbs the painful nerve into the area around the spinal cord.

There are limitations with this treatment option, however. First, the success rate for this treatment is about 50%. In other words, about 50% of the people who have the epidural actually experience relief.

Typically, the epidural only provides temporary relief. Some patients are lucky and experience relief for months. I’ve seen others who only experience relief for days or weeks.

The one thing you have to keep in mind with this treatment is that it only numbs the pain – it does not correct the herniated disc. In fact, this is the worst part of this treatment. When a person experiences relief, they tend to believe the problem is cured, so they go about their normal activities (which are probably making the herniated disc worse as it is), and when the drug wears off, the pain is usually worse, because the disc has become worse.

I encourage patients to view this treatment as a way to alleviate the pain while they are going through the appropriate steps to actually heal the herniated disc. There’s nothing wrong with dulling the pain – in fact, many of the steps required to heal a herniated disc will be difficult if a person is experiencing a lot of pain.

Just don’t be deceived into thinking that the disc is normal just because the pain is alleviated. It just isn’t the way it works, unfortunately.

If you would like more information about epidurals for a herniated disc, or would like to discover all of the options available for healing a bulging / herniated disc, click here.

Did you find this article helpful? Here are some other related articles and resources you may also find useful:

• Here is a list of the best resources I've found for Bulging Disc / Herniated Disc relief
• Daily Activities that Affect a Bulging Disc / Herniated Disc
• Disc Prolapse Resources
• Disc Surgery Resources
• More Epidural Resources